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FOR  WOOL  AND  FOR  MUTTON. 


A  Pragtiom-  Treatise  on  the  Selection.  Cahe.  Beeedino  and 
Diseases  op  the  Meeino  Sheep 


nr 


iLL  SECTIOHS  OF  THE  DSITED  STATES. 


BY 


STEPHEN  POWERS. 


IL  L  U  ST  RAT  B  D. 


NEW    YORK: 

0.   JUDD    CO.,   DAVID    W.   JUDD,   Pees't, 

751    BROADWAY, 

1887. 


63  4.'2>E. 
/V]  ^  f-  b 

Entered,  accordiDg  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tbe  year  1886,  by  the 

O.   JUDD    CO., 
In  the  OfSce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


^iT.        ^ 


CONTENTS.  V<^/.         ^ 


Letter  of  Request. -7!T!t?^7" 

Letter  of  Presentation 8 

Chapter  I. 
From  Spanish  to  American 11 

Chapter  II. 
Form 22 

Chapter  III. 
Fleece 27 

Chapter  TV. 
Blood 43 

Chapter  V. 
Breeding ^ : 47 

Chapter  VI. 
Feed 59 

Chapter  VII. 
Pastui-e  in  the  "West.. 67 

Chapter  VIII. 
A  Mutton  ^Merino - 72 

Chapter  IX. 
Lambing 85 

Chapter  X. 
Care  of  Ewes  and  Lambs 95 

Chapter  XI. 
Tagging,  Washing,  etc .-- 104 

Chapter  XII. 
Shearing  and  Doing  Up  Wool 115 

Chapter  XIII. 
Summer  Management .125 

Chapter  XIV. 
From  Grass  to  Hay 138 

Chapter  XV. 
Selection  and  Care  of  Rams _  .142 

Chapter  XVI. 
The  Breeding  Flock. 155 

Chapter  XVII. 
Sheep  Houses  and  Theii*  Appui-tenances... 165 

Chapter  XVIII. 
Winter  Management 177 

V 


VI  CONTEXTS. 

Chapter  XIX. 
Feeding  for  Mutton 189 

Chapter  XX. 
From  Hay  to  Grass 200 

Chapter  XXI. 
Fodder  for  Sheep ...203 

Chapter  XXII. 
Systems  of  Sheep  Husbandry 209 

Chapter  XXIII. 
Systems  of  Sheep  Husbandly  (Continued) 222 

Chapter  XXIV. 
Systems  of  Sheep  Husbandly  (Continued) 234 

Chapter  XXV. 
Systems  of  Sheep  Husbandry  (Continued). 251 

Chapter  XXVI. 
Systems  of  Sheep  Husbandly  (Continued) 264 

Chapter  XXVII. 
Diseases  of  the  Merino— "Paperskin  " 277 

Chapter  XXVIII. 
Parasitic  Diseases  (Continued) 287 

Chapter  XXIX. 
External  Parasites - 301 

Chapter  XXX. 
Diseases  of  the  Feet 316 

Chapter  XXXI. 
Diseases  of  the  Respiratory  Organs 324 

Chapter  XXXII. 
Diseases  of  the  Alimentary  System 328 

Chapter  XXXIII. 
Blood  Diseases .338 

Chapter  XXXIV. 
Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System 345 

Chapter  XXXV. 
Diseases  of  the  Urinary  and  Reproductive  Organs -348 

Chapter  XXXVI. 
Miscellaneous ...353 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Mr.  G.  B.  Quinn,  the  President,  and  IMr.  J.  G.  Blue,  the  Sec- 
retary, of  the  Ohio  Spanish  Sheep  Breeders'  Association,  ad- 
dressed a  communication  to  Mr.  Stephen  Powers,  in  which 
thej  said  : 

Office  of  the 

Ohio  Spanish  Merino  Sheep 

Breeders'  Association. 

Cardington,  Ohio. 

The  breeders  and  owners  of  Merino  Sheep  find  they 
are  called  upon  to  master  new  and,  in  many  cases,  fatal  dis- 
eases not  spoken  of  by  the  celebrated  writers,  Randall  and 
Youatt.  Among  the  writers  on  the  Merino  of  to-day,  we  think 
some  one  should  present  to  the  pubHc  a  practical  treatise,  which 
shall  discuss  the  present  management,  diseases  and  breeding  of 
Merinos  and  sheep  of  different  bloods,  comparing  their  merits 
in  our  States  and  Territories.  We  think  the  present  magnitude 
of  this  industry  demands  ^^  *  *  *  the  proper  education  of  our 
shepherds  and  flock-masters  in  all  the  new  diseases  of  Merinos 
which  have  been  developed  during  the  last  decade,  and  in  the 
older  ones  which  yet,  in  some  instances,  infest  our  flocks. 

The  Ohio  Spanish  Merino  Sheep  Breeders'  Association,  by 
their  President  and  Secretary,  would  respectfully  request  you, 
at  your  earliest  convenience,  to  condense  your  ideas  on  this 
subject  into  a  suitable  volume,  to  be  printed  and  presented  to 
the  public  for  their  enlightenment.  You  have  perhaps  observed 
the  need  and  demand  for  such  a  volume,  properly  written  and 
illustrated,  to  be  placed  upon  the  market  for  the  thousands  of 
flock-masters  of  to-day. 

Should  you  comply  with  this  request,  and  should  it  be  pos- 
sible for  you  to  give  your  time  continuously  to  the  volume  until 
completed,  we  think  the  sheep  frateiTiity  of  our  country,  and  all 
who  are  interested,  wiU  freely  patronize  your  work  and  appre- 
ciate your  labors. 


(7) 


8  THE   AMEEICAN   MERINO 


Mr.  Powers  replied  as  follows  : 
Messrs.  Geo.  B.  Quinn  and  J.  G.  Blue. 

Gentlemen:  —  Together  with  your  kind  letter,  inviting  me  to 
prepare  a  book  on  our  National  breed  of  sheep,  I  received  a 
copy  of  the  Register  of  your  Association,  containing  a  record  of 
several  hundred  pure-blood  flocks  owned  mostly  in  Ohio — a 
work  carefully  edited  and  printed,  and  substantially  bound. 
Nothiiag  could  afford  more  convincing  proof  than  this  elegant 
volume,  of  the  solidity  and  the  prosperity  of  your  ancient  call- 
ing in  our  State. 

I  have  undertaken  to  do  what  you  ask,  and  offer  you  here- 
with a  work  on  "  The  American  Merino."  I  tender  it  modestly 
and  without  comment,  except  the  simple  remark  that  my  task 
has  been  conscientiously  performed,  and  that  it  is  based  on 
years  of  personal  experience  in  sheep  husbandly. 

While  it  would  be  presumptuous  in  me  to  say  that  the  volume 
herewith  tendered  to  yourselves  and  the  public,  fully  meets  the 
requirements  of  modern  shepherding  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  aver  that  our  great  industry  has  outgrown  the 
manuals  heretofore  published. 

Since  the  learned  work  of  Dr.  Randall  was  given  to  the 
world,  the  American  Merino  has  not  only  crossed  the  Missouri 
and  ascended  the  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  has  fol- 
lowed the  dusty  wagon-trail  of  the  emigrant  to  California,  where 
it  attained  a  larger  and  hardier  form  and  a  new  acclimation  ; 
and,  starting  out  thence  afresh,  north,  south  and  east,  it  over- 
spread the  whole  mid-continent.  With  a  scholarly  pen  this 
distinguished  author  traced  the  development  of  the  American 
Merino  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  the  traits  and  needs 
of  that  great  new  branch  or  type  of  the  race,  which  may  be 
called  the  California  Merino — the  "rustler,"  as  it  is  termed  in 
the  expressive  vernacular — were  little  understood  by  him. 

The  worl:  of  Mr.  Henry  Stewart  is  invaluable  to  the  American 
breeder  of  the  English  races,  with  their  long  category  of  special 
wants  and  ailments  ;  but  it  would  hardly  be  claimed,  even  by 
the  candid  and  painstaking  author  himself,  that  it  is  fully 
abreast  of  the  advance  of  the  Merino  in  the  Far  West. 

The  present  may  seem  to  be  a  dark  day  for  the  breeder  of 
Merinos,  but  the  American  future  of  this  great  race,  potent 


FOR   WOOL   AJ^D   MUTTOiT.  9 

from  "long  descent,"  is  as  well  assured  as  that  of  the  continent 
itself.  In  1865,  the  Boston  price  of  fine  wool  was  one  dollar  and 
two  cents  per  pound  ;  of  coarse,  ninety-six  cents.  In  1885  the 
number  of  Merinos  in  the  world  is  at  least  one  hundred  per 
cent,  greater  than  then,  while  the  number  of  coarse-wools 
(owing  to  the  actual  decrease  in  England)  has  increased  very- 
little,  if  at  all.  Yet  to-day,  the  Boston  price  of  Merino  wool  is 
thirty-four  cents,  and  of  coarse,  it  is  thirty  cents. 

In  spite  of  the  enormous  increase  of  Merinos,  their  wool  is 
proportionately  higher  than  it  was  then. 

Even  in  1866,  before  the  tariff  was  increased,  the  actual  an- 
nual revenue  from  the  Merino  sheep  of  the  United  States  was 
two  dollars  and  sixteen  cents  ;  from  the  mutton-sheep  of  Eng- 
land, one  dollar  and  seventeen  cents. 

The  breeder  of  the  American  Merino  should  not  for  one 
moment  allow  himself  to  be  discouraged,  if  he  is  a  good  shep- 
herd. He  can  abate  much,  and  yet  make  more  money  than  the 
flock-master  of  other  lands. 

Vermont,  the  mother  of  the  American  Merino,  gave  to  Ohio 
and  the  West,  a  sheep  incomparable  in  the  whole  world  as  a 
producer  of  wool ;  and  which  has  well  fulfilled  its  destiny  in 
our  younger  civilization.  Let  it  now  be  the  work  of  Ohio,  of 
your  Association,  and  kindred  societies  in  other  States,  to  give 
to  America  what  the  disciples  of  Daubenton  created  at  Ram- 
bouillet :  the  farmer's  sheep,  a  ''mutton  Merino,"  presenting  in 
itself  the  best  attainable  combination  of  flesh  and  pelage,  which, 
as  a  writer  in  the  Breeders'  Gazette  happily  says,  ' '  stands  ready 
for  a  partnership  arrangement  with  any  domestic  animal  or  any 
sort  of  crop  the  farmer  may  choose  to  cultivate." 

Against  a  National  race  of  such  a  type,  the  American  Govern- 
ment can  never  afford  to  enact  hostile  legislation. 

While  it  is  yours,  gentlemen,  to  labor  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  highly  desirable  result,  and  to  preserve  in  your  several 
Registers  that  pedigree  so  highly  valued  by  the  breeders,  let  it 
be  mine  to  give  in  the  following  pages,  as  well  as  I  may,  the 
present  condition  and  directions  for  the  rearing  of  the  Merino. 

Stephen  Powers. 


THE  AMERICAN  MERINO. 


CHAPTER    I. 
FROM   "SPANISH"  TO   "AMERICAN." 

There  are  two  etymologies  given  for  the  word  "Merino." 
One,  put  forth  in  the  biography  of  Consul  Wm,  Jarvis,  and 
adopted  by  the  Ohio  Register,  traces  it  to  two  Spanish  words 
meaning  ' '  from  over  the  sea. "  The  other,  upheld  by  E.  Ollen- 
dorf,  a  writer  in  the  Breeders'  Gazette,  and  some  others,  would 
derive  it  from  Merino,  the  designation  of  a  certain  royal  officer 
of  Spain,  years  ago;  one  of  whose  functions  was  the  assign- 
ment of  their  respective  pasture  grounds  to  the  mountain  sheep 
(Serranos),  and  the  migratory  sheep  {Trans-humantes). 

Mr.  Seth  Adams  imported  the  first  pair  of  Spanish  Merinos  to 
the  United  States  for  breeding  purposes,  in  1801,  bringing  them 
from  France  to  Dorchester,  Mass.  In  1807  he  became  a  citizen 
of  Wacatomica  (now  Dresden),  in  Ohio,  and  brought  with  him 
twenty-five  or  thirty  sheep,  the  descendants  of  this  pair.  He 
continued  to  breed  them  for  several  years,  under  the  very  dis- 
couraging circumstances  which  attended  pioneer  life  in  those 
days,  but  finally  sold  out  the  flock  and  moved  to  Zanesville. 
Though  this  importation  was  of  great  benefit  to  Ohio  and  also 
to  Kentucky  (the  first  pair  Mr.  Adams  sold  in  Ohio  was  to 
Judge  Todd,  of  Kentucky,  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars),  yet  the 
stress  of  pioneer  life  was  too  severe,  and  there  are  not  now 
any  descendants  of  it  positively  recognizable. 

The  credit  of  the  first  traceable  importation,  therefore,  be- 
longs to  Col.  David  Humphreys,  who  brought  from  Spain  to 
Derby,  Conn.,  in  1802,  twenty-one  rams  and  seventy  ewes. 
But  this  now  celebrated  flock  would  have  been  lost  to  recorded 
history,  too,  though  not  to  the  blood  and  stock  of  the  country, 
had  it  not  been  preserved  by  the  one  ewe  bought  by  Stephen 

(11) 


12  THE   AMERICAK   MERINO 

Atwood.  A  Humphreys'  ewe  and  a  Heaton  ram,  in  the  hands 
of  this  noted  and  careful  breeder,  alone  preserved  for  modern 
registers  the  blood  of  this  large  and  choice  flock. 

Still,  for  a  time.  Merino  sheep  were  wonderfully  popular.  It 
is  recorded  that  President  Madison  wore,  at  his  inauguration  in 
1809,  a  coat  made  from  wool  grown  on  sheep  from  Col.  Hum- 
phreys' flock,  and  a  waistcoat  and  small  clothes  made  from  the 
Livingston  French  flock,  of  Clermont,  N.  H.  Four  lambs  were 
sold  in  1810  from  the  Livingston  flock,  at  one  thousand  dollars 
each,  and  Col.  Humphreys  is  said  to  have  sold  two  pairs  of 
Merinos  at  three  thousand  dollars  a  pair.  (It  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  one  dollar  then,  represents  at  least  two  now).  Col. 
Humphreys  sold  his  half-blood  Merino  wool  at  seventy-five 
cents  a  pound;  three-quarter-blood  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents;  and  his  full-blood  at  two  dollars  a  pound. 

Accordingly,  very  large  importations  of  Merinos  began  to 
arrive.  Mr.  Albert  Chapman  states  that,  in  the  years  1810  and 
1811,  one  hundred  and  six  vessels  arrived  at  various  ports  of 
the  United  States,  bringing  in  all,  fifteen  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty-seven  sheep  !  Of  these,  the  vast  majority  were 
Merinos  from  Spain;  and  of  the  latter,  it  is  considered  probable 
that  the  greater  number  were  purchased  by  that  indefatigable 
patriot,  Consul  Jarvis. 

It  is  not  certainly  known  from  what  cabanas,  or  flocks,  in 
Spain,  Col.  Humphreys  selected  his  purchase,  nor  does  it  appear 
that  he  considered  it  a  matter  of  importance.  Mr.  Atwood 
said,  in  1864,  "The  original  Humphreys'  sheep  were,  in  color, 
lighter  than  my  present  flock,"  while  those  imported  by  Mr.  A. 
Heaton,  "  were  short-legged,  dark  and  heavy-wooled." 

The  principal  flocks  of  Spain  from  which  Merinos  were 
brought  to  America,  were  Infantados,  Paulars,  Escurials,  Neg- 
rettis,  Montarcos,  Guadaloupes  and  Aguirres.  It  has  generally 
been  believed  that  Col.  Humphreys  selected  his  sheep  from  the 
Infantados,  while  ConsulJarvis  bought  from  all  the  other  flocks 
above  named,  except  Infantados. 

Col.  Humphreys  mentions  that  a  ram  bred  on  his  fann  cut 
seven  pounds  and  five  ounces  of  washed  wool.  Mr.  Jarvis  says: 
"  From  1811  to  1826  ******  niy  average  weight  of 
wool  was  three  pounds  and  fourteen  ounces,  to  four  pounds  and 
two  ounces  —  varying  according  to  keep.  The  weight  of  the 
wool  of  the  bucks  was  from  five  and  a  quarter  pounds  to  six 
and  a  half  pounds,  in  good  stock  case,  aU  washed  ou  the  eheepg 
backs." 


FOR   WOOL   Al^D    MUTTON. 


13 


14  THE    AMERICAJT    MERIXO 

Many  acrimonious  controversies  have  been  waged  by  the 
partisans  of  the  different  flocks  in  the  United  States,  as  to  their 
respective  merits  and  their  purity.  It  is  now  acknowledged  by 
the  authors  of  the  Ohio  Register,  that  we  probably  have  no  pure 
sheep  of  any  one  of  the  above  named  celebrated  cabanas  in 
America;  they  have  all  been  more  or  less  mingled.  But  we 
have,  perhaps,  a  million  pure  American  Merinos  of  undoubted 
Spanish  descent;  and  this  one  fact,  which  alone  is  of  practical 
importance,  should  satisfy  every  breeder  of  this  great  and 
ancient  race.  This,  I  take  it,  is  the  true  purport  of  the  follow- 
ing sentence  (p.  28)  in  the  American  Register,  of  Wisconsin : 
"The  imperfect  records  of  the  Spanish  Merino  sheep,  from  their 
early  importations  until  1860,  have  been  such  that  an  absolute 
certainty  is  an  impossibility,  but  the  march  of  progress  has 
been  so  grand,  and  the  improvements  so  great,  that  any  imper- 
fections that  may  have  stained  the  blood  of  those  early  breed- 
ers, does  not  and  cannot  stain  the  blood  of  to-day." 

The  Paulars  were  undoubtedly  one  of  the  handsomest  flocks 
in  Spain  ;  the  wool  was  compact,  soft  and  silky,  and  the  surface 
not  so  much  covered  with  gum.  The  Aguirres  had  more  wool 
about  their  faces  and  legs  than  either  of  the  other  flocks.  The 
wool  was  more  crimped  than  the  Paular,  and  less  so  than  the 
Negretti,  and  it  was  thick  and  soft.  They  were  short-legged, 
round  and  broad-bodied,  with  loose  skins.  The  Negrettis  were 
the  tallest  sheep  in  Spain,  but  were  not  handsomely  formed  ; 
the  wool  was  somewhat  shorter  than  the  Paular,  the  skin  moro 
loose  and  inclined  to  double  ;  many  of  them  were  wooled  well 
on  the  face,  and  on  their  legs  down  to  their  hoofs.  All  the 
loose-skinned  sheep  had  large  dewlaps.  The  Guadaloupcs  wero 
rather  large-boned,  but  not  handsome ;  wool  thick  and  crim- 
ped ;  skins  loose  and  doubling  ;  generally  more  gummy  than 
any  of  the  other  flocks.  The  Escurials  were  about  as  tall  as 
the  Paulars,  but  slighter,  and  their  wool  not  so  thick ;  they 
were  plainer  than  the  Negrettis  and  Aguirres,  and  not  so  well 
wooled  on  the  faces  and  legs.  The  Infantados  were  the  largest 
and  most  popular  flock  ;  their  lambs,  like  the  Paular,  often 
have  a  hairy  coat  when  born  ;  a  mark  of  a  good  shearer.  The 
Paular  lambs  often  have  butter-nut-tipped  ears  at  birth.  A 
black  lamb  is  oftener  yeaned  from  the  Paular  strain  of  blood, 
than  any  other  ;  but  the  best-informed  shepherds  nowadays,  do 
not  consider  a  black  lamb  any  evidence  of  impurity  of  blood, 
though  the  color  itself  is  objectionable. 

When  Col.  Humphreys  first  began  to  sell  pure  Merinos,  the 


FOS   WOOL   AND   MUTTOK.  15 

price  did  not  generally  exceed  one  hundred  dollars  per  head; 
but,  as  we  have  seen  above,  they  afterward  commanded  en- 
ormous prices.  This  was  in  consequence  of  the  embargo  and 
the  war  of  1813,  during  which,  full-blooded  wool  at  one  time, 
brought  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  pound,  (two  dollars  even 
as  far  west  as  Marietta,  Ohio).  But  after  this  war  closed  there 
was  a  disastrous  collapse;  many  pure  Merinos  were  sold  for  one 
dollar  a  head;  and  many  of  the  best  flocks  of  the  country  were 
sold  and  dispersed.  The  extensive  importations  of  Consul 
Jarvis  also  contributed  to  this  cheapening. 

This  country,  therefore,  owes  an  inextinguishable  debt  of 
gratitude  to  that  plain,  simple  man,  Stephen  Atwood,  who, 
with  an  abiding  faith  in  the  future  of  this  breed  of  sheep,  in 
1813  paid  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  for  a  full-blood 
Humphreys  ewe,  and  in  1819,  bought  five  more  of  the  same 
descent ;  and  with  this  little  band  as  a  foundation,  breeding  to 
Humphreys  rams  until  1838  (after  which  he  could  find  no  more 
that  were  pure,  and  was  obliged  to  depend  on  his  own),  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  whether  wool  was  up  or  down,  tariff 
or  no  tariff,  he  kept  his  small  flock  together  on  his  small  farm, 
and  bred  it  so  pure  that,  in  this  day  of  many  Registers,  and  of 
much  ''crookedness,"  the  very  highest  warrant  that  can  be 
given  any  sheep  is,  to  pronounce  it  a  "  straight  Atwood." 

His  first  fleece  from  this  noted  ewe,  shorn  in  June,  1814,  was 
three  pounds  and  nine  ounces.  That  he  was  a  progressive 
breeder  appears  from  the  fact  that,  in  June,  1857,  he  cut  from 
a  ram  of  the  same  blood,  nineteen  pounds  and  eleven  ounces, 
though  the  same  animal,  next  year,  with  another  owner,  yielded 
thirty-two  pounds.  Recent  investigations  by  the  Ohio  Register 
leave  it  doubtful  whether  this  ewe  of  Atwood's  was  a  Paular  or 
an  Infantado.  They  also  show  that  Atwood  was  less  careful  in 
his  records  than  in  his  breeding,  and  that  the  present  blood  of 
the  American  Merino  is  much  purer  than  its  recorded  pedigree. 

While  Mr.  William  Jarvis  deserves  the  highest  praise  for  the 
indomitable  energy,  perseverance  and  sagacity,  which  led  him, 
as  Consul  to  Lisbon,  amid  the  conflicts  of  the  Napoleonic 
wars,  to  gather  up  the  wrecks  of  the  ancient  flocks  of  Spam, 
and  dispatch  ship-load  after  ship-load  to  America  ;  yet  he  ranks 
below  Mr.  Atwood  m  the  singleness  and  steadfastness  with 
which  the  latter  held  to  his  purpose  and  practice  of  breeding 
for  fifty  years.  Mr.  Jai-vis  put  on  his  farm  at  Weathersfield, 
,Vt.,  three  hundred  sheep  of  the  Paular,  Aguirre,  Escurial, 
Montarco  and  Negretti  flocks.    According  to  the  Spanish  cus- 


16 


THE   AMERICAN   MERIIfO 


V  torn,  he  bred  each  of  these  separately  until  1816  or  1817,  when 
.  he  mixed  them  together.  In  1826  he  committed  the  mistake  of 
crossing  with  the  Saxony  Merinos,  a  mania  for  which  was  at 
that  time  over-sweeping  the  country.  But  this  country  is  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Jarvis  for  most  of  the  admirable  Paular  blood  it 
has  received ;  and  there  were  men  who  bought  of  him  pure 
Spanish  Merinos,  and  who  were  not  swept  away  by  the  Saxony 
mania  which  passed  over  the  country.    To  him,  ultimately,  we 


Fig;.  2.— MERINO  EWE. 

are  indebted  for  the  fine  flock  of  the  Messrs.  Rich,  of  Vermont, 
which  has  been  a  prolific  mother  of  Western  studs.  Mr.  Chap- 
man says,  with  the  fervor  of  a  strong  partisan:  "Let  us  all 
-especially  revere  the  memory  of  Thurman  and  Charles  Rich, 
whose  firmness  and  judgment  were  not  shaken,  and  who  have 
left  unto  their  heirs  and  the  land,  the  goodly  heritage  of  the 
Rich  flock,  without  even  a  smell  or  rumor  of  Saxony  upon  its 
; outermost  skirts." 

At  this  point  1  will  present  a  sketch  of  a  Paular  Merino  ewe, 
figured  in  the  Albany  Cultivator,  December,  1840,  of  which  the 
owner  says,  **  Her  form  at  any  rate  is  genuinely  MeiHno,"  though 
he  complains  further  on:  *'  Still  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  Merino,  compared  with  the  improved  breeds  of  sheep,  is  aa 
ill-formed  animal." 


FOE  WOOL  AKD   MUTTOiq'.  17 

By  way  of  contrast,  I  give  next  a  group  of  two  ewes  of  the 
American  Merino,  owned  by  G.  B.  Quinn,  Esq. ,  Brown's  Mills, 
Ohio.     {See  Frontispiece.) 

The  greatest  breeder  America  has  yet  produced,  Edwin  Ham- 
mond, of  Vermont,  now  appeared  upon  the  scene,  to  give  that 
improvement  to  the  Merino  form,  which  the  contributor  to  the 
Cultivator  had  sighed  for.  Before  Hammond,  there  was  only 
the  Spanish  Merino  ;  after  Hammond,  there  was  a  truly  Amer- 
ican Merino. 

We  may  believe  that  this  great  specialist  began  with  about 
Buch  material  as  that  figured  above  ;  for  "  Old  Black,"  which  he 
bought  of  Atwood,  in  1849,  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Randall : 
"He  was  long,  tall,  flat-ribbed,  rather  long  in  the  neck  and 
head,  strong-boned,  a  little  roach-backed,  deep-chested,  moder- 
ately wrinkled  ;  his  wool  was  about  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  of 
medium  thickness,  extremely  yolky,  and  dark-colored  extern- 
ally ;  face  a  little  bare,  and  not  much  wool  on  shanks.  He  did 
not- possess  a  very  strong  constitution."  He  weighed  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds,  and  cut  about  fourteen  pounds 
of  wool,  unwashed.  This  was  certainly  not  very  promising 
material. 

I  would  not,  if  I  could,  trace  Mr.  Hammond's  wonderful 
career  through  ail  the  intricacies  and  niceties  of  his  art.  He 
developed  ultimately  three  lines,  or  sub-families,  in  his  flock — 
"the  dark  or  Queen  line,"  "the  light-colored  line,"  and  the 
"intermediate."  The  best  sheep  of  his  flock  were,  almost  in- 
variably, produced  by  crossing  between  these  lines. 

But  we  may  profitably  trace  a  few  of  his  foot-steps,  as  they 
are  imprinted  on  the  records.  "Old  Black"  lived  nineteen 
years,  attesting  the  vigor  created  by  Atwood's  open-air  shep- 
herding ;  but  Hammond  soon  found  (or  created)  better  material. 
His  own  ram,  "  Wooster,"  bred  in  1849,  weighed  only  one  hun- 
dred and  five  pounds,  but  sheared  nineteen  and  one  quarter 
pounds,  unwashed.  He  served  three  hundred  ewes  when  he 
was  a  year  old  !  He  was  compact  and  short-legged;  head  short 
and  thick  ;  very  wrinkly  ;  wool  about  two  inches  long.  "  Old 
Greasy,"  bred  in  1850,  weighed  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds 
and  cut  twenty-two  pounds.  "  Old  Wrinkly,"  bred  in  1853, 
weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  and  sheared  twenty- 
three  pounds.  In  breeding,  next,  from  "  Little  \Vrinkly,"  Mr. 
Hammond  suiTered  a  backset  in  weight  of  fleece,  though  his 
wool  was  very  fine  and  even.  But  "  Sweepstakes  "  (1856)  went 
up   to  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds  in  weight  of  carcass. 


18 


THE   AMEBIC  AN   MERINO 


and  twenty-seven  pounds  in  fleece.  In  this  noble  animal, 
perhaps  the  art  of  the  master  reached  its  culmination ;  he 
united  in  himself  the  blood  of  the  three  lines,  and  is  believed  to 
have  produced  more  scoured  wool  in  one  fleece,  than  any  other 
ram  which  Hammond  ever  owned. 

"Young  Matchless"  was  a  model  of  compactness,  strength, 
and  symmetry  ;  had  immense  constitution,  and  did  more  than 
any  other  ram  to  impart  the  short,  thick,  round  carcass  so  con- 
spicuous in  the  American  Merino;  while  "Long  "Wool"  im- 
proved the  fleece  above  any  other,  perhaps,  especially  in  length. 
But  "  Sweepstakes "  combined  both  or  all  these  excellences, 
and  transmitted  them  to  his  progeny. 

Mr.  Hammond  died  in  1870,  but  the  year  1856,  which  marks 
the  birth  of  "  Sweepstakes,"  may  be  assumed  as  the  starting- 
point  of  the  American  Mermo.  In  1861,  Mr.  Randal]  instituted 
certain  measurements  of  carcass  on  a  ram  and  three  ewes  of  his 
flock  (which  was  of  the  Hammond  blood) ;  and  a  few  of  these, 
with  the  Austrian  figures  reduced  to  English,  will  be  of  interest 
here  as  showing  the  points  in  which  the  American  Jlerino  is  an 
improvement  over  the  Spanish. 


Ra.Tn 

Infantado. 

Ewe           - 

Ram. 

Negretti. 

Ewe            

Ram 

American. 

Ewe  

Ewe  

Ewe 

S  Si 


lbs. 

104 
73 

lOOi 
70 

122 
114 
133 
100 


c 

§2 

1 

• 

cy 

rS 

.£;  ^3 

S  2 

« 

^ 

<5'5 

IS 

e; 

t-t 

ft.  in. 

ft. 

in. 

ft.  in. 

1    lOi 
1    10 

5 
5 

8 
4i 

5      2^ 

4  Hi 

1    lU 
1      9i 

5 
5 

V 

5      1* 
5      2 

10 
10 
10 
11 

3 
3 
4 
3 

11 

lU 

0 

11 

4      41 
4      4i 
4      3 
4      01 

ft.  in. 

7i 
7 

7i 
6 

9 

8 
8 
8 


From  these  figures  we  Icam  the  almost  incredible  fact  that, 
while  the  Spanish  ]\Iorinos  were  nearly  two  feet  longer  in  all, 
and  a  foot  longer  in  the  neck,  they  weighed  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  pounds  less,  and  were  not  so  broad  across  the  hips 
by  about  two  inches  I  Tlieir  fore-legs  were  also  six  or  seven 
inches  longer  than  those  of  the  American  Merino ) 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON".  19 

Livingston  gives  the  weight  of  the  unwashed  Spanish  fleeces 
at  eight  and  one  half  pounds  for  the  ram,  and  five  pounds  for 
the  ewe.  Even  in  Randall's  day,  the  American  Merino  un- 
washed fleeces  were  nearly  double  these  weights. 

In  Spain,  the  best  rams  yielded  only  about  six  or  eight  per 
cent,  of  their  weight  in  wool ;  in  America,  about  1844,  it  had 
increased  to  fifteen  per  cent. ;  and  in  1861,  Hammond's  celebrated 
ram,  "  Twenty-one  Per  Cent."  had  increased  the  proportion  to 
the  figures  which  gave  him  his  name.  There  were  forwarded 
to  the  Paris  Exposition,  American  Merino  fleeces  (twenty-one 
rams,  forty-six  ewes),  of  which  the  per  cent,  of  wool,  to  hve 
weight  for  the  whole,  was  23  ;  of  the  best  thirty,  25.2  ;  of  the 
best  six,  30.1 ;  of  the  best  one,  36.6. 

With  this  notable  improvement  in  compactness  of  form,  and 
wool-bearing  capacity,  there  has  been  no  deterioration  in  the 
fineness  of  the  fiber,  but,  perhaps,  the  reverse.  Youatt  gave  as 
the  average  diameter  of  the  Merino  wool-fiber  in  his  day,  one- 
seven  hundred  and  fiftieth  of  an  inch  ;  of  Saxony  wool,  one- 
eight  hundred  and  fortieth  of  an  inch.  In  1878,  measurements 
of  wool  made  in  Vermont,  as  stated  by  Hon.  Henry  Lane,  of 
that  State,  showed  rams'  fleeces  with  a  fiber  of  the  diameter  of 
one-nine  hundred  and  thirty -fourth  of  an  inch ;  and  ewes'  of 
one-one  tnousand  and  fifth  of  an  inch. 

But  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  sheep  yielcUng  such  a 
fine  fiber  as  this,  and  such  an  enormous  percentage  of  wool  to 
live  weight,  are  desirable  ;  they  are  generally  lacking  in  vigor. 
The  best  shepherds  are  beginning  to  acknowledge  that  the  hot- 
house forcing  of  the  American  Merino's  wool-bearing  aptitude, 
has  been,  in  maiiy  instances,  carried  too  far.  Thus,  in  report- 
ing the  annual  "State  Shearing"  of  Vermont  for  1885,  Mr. 
Albert  Chapman  says:  "It  will  be  remarked  that  there  is  a 
faUing  off  in  the  weights  attained  by  rams  and  ewes  one  year 
old,  a  very  good  indication  that  our  breeders  are  becoming  con- 
vinced that  the  forcing  system  to  attain  large  size  and  heavy 
fleeces  the  first  year,  is  neitlier  desirable  or  profitable,  and  the 
gains  in  the  mature  sheep  show  that  slower  development  tends 
to  much  better  and  larger  improvements  in  the  end." 

In  the  percentage  of  scoured  wool,  per  fleece,  there  has  been, 
perhaps,  a  sHght  improvement  over  the  Spanish,  in  the  great 
mass  of  American  Merinos  and  high-grades  throughout  the  coun- 
try ;  but  the  enormous  development  of  yolk,  under  the  housing 
and  other  artificial  treatment  of  the  stud  flock,  has  tended  to 
prejudice  the  breed  in  the  minds  of  many  careful  conservative 


20  THE    AMERICAI^   ]MrETlIN"0 

wool-growers.  I  have  the  authority  of  Messrs.  Coates  Brothers, 
of  Philadelphia,  for  saying  that  fleeces  have  been  shorn  in  this 
country  which  yielded  only  twelve  and  one-half  per  cent  of 
pure  wool.  In  1876,  "Patrick  Henry,"  bred  by  L.  P.  Clark,  of 
Vermont,  yielded  a  fleece  of  thirty-seven  pounds,  which  turned 
out  nine  pounds  and  ten  ounces  of  clean  wool,  or  twenty-six 
per  cent.  "  Bascom,"  owned  by  Capt.  J.  G.  Blue,  of  Carding- 
ton,  Ohio,  once  gave  a  fleece  of  twenty-nine  and  one-quarter 
pounds,  whicli  scoured  nine  and  one-quarter  pounds,  or  thu'ty- 
one  and  six-tenths  per  cent. 

The  heaviest  known  fleece  yet  cut  from  an  American  Merino, 
was  one  of  forty-four  pounds  and  four  ounces,  which  was 
yielded  by  "Buckeye,"  a  ram  owned  partly  in  Huron  County, 
Ohio,  partly  in  Michigan,  at  the  "  State  Shearing"  of  the  latter 
State  in  18S4. 

For  detailed  histories  of  noted  breeders  and  their  flocks,  the 
reader  must  consult  the  voluminous  registers  of  the  various 
National  and  State  Associations.  But  there  are  a  few  items, 
which  may  be  given  here  as  landmarks  in  the  progress  of  the 
American  Merino.  While  the  written  or  printed  histories  of 
the  Adams,  Humphreys,  Heaton  and  Jaiwis  importations  are 
practically  lost,  owing  to  numerous  transfers,  the  flock  of 
C.  S.  Ramsey,  Castleton,  Vt.,  has  an  unbroken  traditional 
record  from  the  Humphreys'  importation  to  the  present  time. 
In  1809,  Israel  Putnam,  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  bought  of  Seth 
Adams  some  full-blood  Merinos,  and  founded  a  flock,  which 
was  continued  by  his  son,  L.  J.  P.  Putnam,  substantially  to  the 
present  time,  but  without  registration.  June  13,  1811,  Dr.  In- 
crease Mathews,  of  Putnam,  Ohio,  bought  an  Infantado  ram 
and  two  ewes,  just  imported  into  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  had 
them  brought  in  a  wagon  to  his  farm  in  Ohio,  where  he  kept 
up  a  pure  flock  until  about  1850.  In  1811,  Col.  Humphreys  sold 
a  ram  for  sixteen  hundred  acres  of  Ohio  land  to  Paul  Fearing 
and  B.  I.  Oilman,  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  this  ram  was  brought 
on  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  flock  which  was  kept  up  many 
years.  In  1826,  Col.  John  Stone  and  George  Dana,  of  Belpre, 
Ohio,  bought  a  number  of  pure  Merinos  from  the  celebrated 
WeUs  flock,  of  Steubenvillc,  Oliio  ;  and  Col.  Stone  kept  up  a  flock 
over  half  a  century.  The  Wells  flock,  just  mentioned,  was 
founded  in  1815,  and  continued  to  1829,  when  it  was  a  grand 
flock  of  three  thousand  head,  shearing  about  five  pounds  of 
washed  wool  per  fleece.     It  was  then  sold  and  scattered. 

For  some  reason  a  cloud  has  always  rested  over  the  importa- 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON".  21 

tions  made  subsequently  to  1812  ;  hence  the  fine  flocks  of 
"  Black-top  "  or  "  Delaine  Merinos" — locally  known  by  way  of 
emphasis  as  "  the  big  Merinos  " —  found  in  Wasliington  County, 
Pa.,  tracing  to  the  Meade  importation,  and  with  some  admix- 
ture of  Saxony  in  several  cases,  founded  about  1826-30,  have 
been  regarded  as  Pariahs  and  outcasts,  whose  abode  was  without 
the  camp.  But,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  these  same  flocks  have 
contributed,  perhaps  more  than  any  others  within  its  borders, 
to  set  Washington  County  at  the  very  forefront  of  the  United 
States  in  the  production  of  sheep  and  wool,  they  can  rest  tran- 
quilly under  this  bar  sinister  on  their  escutcheon.  Presenting 
themselves  with  a  modest  register,  in  which  no  special  effort  is 
made  to  conceal  the  stain  in  their  blood  (if  it  be  one)  the 
"  Victor-Beall  Delaine  Merinos "  ought  to  be  recognized  as  an 
excellent  variety  of  the  American. 

The  flock  of  Daniel  Kelly,  Wlieaton,  111.,  has  a  record  dating 
from  1829.  That  belonging  to  Alex.  Fraser,  East  Troy,  Wis., 
originating  from  Atwood  Mermos,  has  a  record  reaching  back  to 
1846. 

The  spread  of  the  Merinos  over  the  Far  West  is  traced  to  some 
extent  in  subsequent  chapters. 


2Z 


THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 


CHAPTER    II. 


FORM. 


Correlation  of  Carcass  and  Fleece. — In  the  appendix  to 
The  Practical  Shepherd,  Mr.  Randall  gives  some  valuable  tables, 
which  go  to  show  that  small  sheep  produce  proportionately 
more  wool  than  medium  or  large  ones.  I  shall  abridge  these 
somewliat,  and  give,  first,  a  table  which  is  based  on  six  hundred 
and  fifty-five  sheep,  divided  into  lots  according  to  age  and  sex. 
These  tables  represent  the  results  of  three  years'  observations. 


Age. 

Sex. 

Average  Weight 
of  Body. 

Average  Weight 
of' Fleece. 

Bjunds  of 

Body  to  One  of 

Wool. 

1 

E 

55.74 

5.07 

11.01 

2 

E 

67.03 

4.94 

13.  .54 

3 

E 

75.99 

5.18 

14.58 

4 

E 

82.49 

5.06 

16.33 

5 

E 

74.07 

4  75 

15.68 

6 

E 

79.00 

4.78 

16.49 

1 

W 

64. 2S 

5.16 

12.43 

2 

W 

84.23 

5.  (.9 

14.77 

3 

W 

88.86 

6.45 

14.57 

4 

W 

103.94 

7.04 

14.04 

5 

W 

97.72 

7.12 

13.71 

Pci'  Cent  of 

\Yool  to 

Weight  of 

Body. 


8.10 
6.90 
6.41 
5.88 
6.00 
5.70 
7.50 
6.49 
6.58 
6.65 
7.00 


From  this  table,  it  appears  that  ewes  shear  their  heaviest 
fleece  at  three  years  old,  but  gain  in  weight  until  they  reach 
the  age  of  four.  The  percentage  of  wool  to  live  weight  de- 
creases every  year  (with  the  exception  of  one)  until  they  are  six 
years  old.  It  shows  also  that,  for  the  first  two  years,  ewes  are 
more  profitable  as  shearers  than  wethers ;  but  after  they  begin 
to  btar  iambs,  of  course,  they  fall  a  little  behind  in  tlieir  per- 
centage of  wool  to  cai'cass.     The  second  table  is  based  on  the 


FOR    WOOL   Al^D    MUTTOi^. 


same  number  of  sheep,  classified  by  weight,  for  the  same  num- 
ber of  years. 


Per  Cent  of 

No.  in 

WeigJit  of 

Average 

Average 

Pounds  of 

Wool  to 

Lot. 

Lots. 

Weight. 

Weight  of 

Body  to  One 

Live 

Fleece. 

of  Wool. 

Weight. 

52 

3i  to  51 

44.63 

4.08 

11.36 

8.16 

89 

50  to  61 

55.78 

4.71 

11.90 

7.80 

129 

60  to  71 

66.03 

5.09 

12.98 

7.13 

160 

70  to  81 

75.52 

5.31 

14.21 

6.53 

93 

SO  to  91 

85.25 

5.78 

14.77 

6.33 

75 

90  to  101 

95.  SO 

6.10 

15.44 

5.85 

58 

100  to  140 

111.31 

7.17 

15.56 

6.04 

It  will  be  observed  from  this  table,  that  the  percentage  of 
wool  to  live  weight,  decreases  steadily  with  the  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  sheep,  until  the  last  lot  is  reached,  where  there  is  an 
increase  of  the  fifth  of  one  per  cent.  But  there  were  only 
seven  sheep  in  this  heavy  lot,  and  if  there  had  been  a  large 
number  to  average  from,  the  result  might  have  been  different. 
At  any  rate,  the  conclusion  is  irresistible,  that  young  sheep  are 
the  most  profitable  as  wool-producers  ;  also,  the  further  con- 
clusion, that  a  wether  at  four  years  of  age  will  yield  more  mut- 
ton, on  an  average,  than  he  ever  will  afterward.  Hence,  that 
flock  will  pay  best  which  has  every  year  the  highest  percentage 
of  lambs,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  lambs  are  subject  to 
more  accidents  and  fatalities  than  older  sheep.  Furthermore, 
since  a  ewe  is  more  profitable  as  a  wool-bearer  than  a  wether, 
up  to  the  time  when  she  bears  a  lamb,  and  is  more  profitable 
afterward,  by  reason  of  her  lamb,  ewes  are  a  better  paying 
class  of  sheep  than  wethers.  This  would  indicate  the  policy  of 
selling  off  wethers  closely,  and  buying  ewes  for  breeders. 

I  may  add  that  IvI.  Bernardin,  the  suf  e  intendent  of  the 
RambouiUet  flock  of  France,  in  a  letter  to  iVIr.  W,  G.  Markham, 
states  that  :  ' '  Dividing  a  flock  according  to  weight  into  four 
sections,  we  find  the  smallest  sheep  will  yield  twelve  and  thirty- 
eight  hundredths  per  cent  of  their  live  weight  in  wool ;  the 
next  largest,  eleven  and  forty-one  hundredths  ;  the  next,  ten 
and  thirty-eight  hundredths  ;  and  the  heaviest,  nine  and  fifty- 
one  hundredths." 

A  small  Merino  is  hardier  and  more  prolific  than  a  large  one. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  sheep,  weighing  ten  thousand  pounds, 
will  not  consume  any  more  feed  than  one  hundred  weighing  a 
like  amount.     On  the  score  of  mutton,  the  medium  sheep  is 


24 


THE   AMERICAN^   MERHSTO 


not  objectionable,  because  the  butcher  considers  size  as  second- 
ary, and  seeks  for  the  carcass  which  is  thoroughly  well 
fattened.  In  proof  of  this,  I  give  a  list  of  the  sales  of  mutton 
sheep  made  on  two  consecutive  days  in  the  last  week  of  March, 
1885,  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  the  second  column 


showing  the 


average 


live   weight,  and  the  third  column  the 


price  per  hundred  pounds.    (Note  how  quahty  rules  instead  of 

weight)  : — 


JVb.  Av. 

30  inferior 66 

10  inferior 80 

126  inferior 60 

67  common 81 

60  common 67 

89  common 73 

287  common 70 

171  fair 103 

40  fair 87 

103  Western 71 

96  Western 87 

19  medium 83 

179  medium 95 

110  medium 90 

62  common 87 

80  common 88 

102  common 83 

100  fair 82 

100  fair 82 

73  fair 91 

30  fair 75 

55  fair 78 

74  fair 77 

27  fair 71 

136  fair 90 

110  fair 73 

32  fair 90 


Pr. 

2  30 
2  75 

2  95 

3  35 
3  50 


3  50 
3  55 
3  60 
3  75 


3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 


(0 

75 
75 
90 
90 
60 
25 


3  87i 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 


40 
50 
50 
50 
GO 
3  65 
3  70 
75 
75 
75 


3 
3 
3 


No.  Av.  Pr. 

81  e:ood 106  4  00 

52'^ood 95  4  00 

125  good 90  4  15 

506  Western 124  4  20 

177  Western 100  4  25 

169good 118  4  25 

58  good lOS  4  40 

98  choice 95  4  40 

171  choice 123  4  50 

10  choice 100  4  50 

280  choice 139  4  75 

75  good 109  4  75 

18  choice 112  4  75 

1S9  extra 117  5  00 

170  medium 94  3  90 

117  medium 88  3  90 

94  medium 87  3  CO 

7'4  medium 91  4  124 

63  choice 114  4  50 

95-ood 88  4  25 

'rO-iood 108  4  25 

(rtgood 121  4  25 

83  good 113  4  25 

10  good 156  4  40 

89  choice 105  4  50 

66  choice 135  4  75 

47  Iambs 93  5  50 


Race  Type.  —  A  perfect  animal  should  be  symmetrical  and 
well-rounded,  without  angularity ;  the  top  and  bottom  lines 
straight,  and  nearly  parallel  to  the  root  of  the  scrag  or  neck. 
Back  straight ;  ribs  well  sprung  out,  giving  a  round  baiTel, 
thick  through  the  heart ;  shoulders  deep,  chest  broad,  breast 
bone  or  brisket  extending  well  in  front  and  down  ;  hips  long, 
straight  and  broad  ;  thighs  well  let  down,  and  heavy  ;  neck 
short  and  powerful,  without  droop  on  top ;  head  broad,  nose 
short  and  wrinkly,  nostrils  not  flat,  but  round  and  open  ;  legs 
stout,  bony,  standing  wide  apart  at  knee  and  hock. 

Experience  has  demonstrated,  that  great  weight  of  fleece  (if 
not  the  greatest),  can  be  combined  with  constitutional  vigor. 
The  greatest  amount  of  yolk  compatible  with  perfect  physical 


FOR   WOOL  AKD   MUTTOl^.  25 

development,  is  admissible  in  a  ram  ;  so  long  as  the  skin  remains 
a  bright  rosy  pink  color,  and  the  yolk  colorless,  or  nearly  so,  it 
is  difficult  to  develop  too  much  of  the  latter  in  the  fleece.  A. 
fleece  opening  buff  or  orange,  is  the  choice  of  many  breeders, 
but  a  yolk  tinted  lemon,  or  nankeen,  is  objectionable,  and  still 
more  so,  one  of  a  greenish  tinge  ;  they  evince  a  morbid  habit  of 
body  which  is  associated  with  clot  or  induration  of  the  fleece. 

Wrinkles  are  not  a  distinctive  race  characteristic  of  the 
American  Merino  ;  for  full-blooded  and  very  fine  specimens  can 
be  found  which  are  perfectly  plain.  They  are  an  individual 
characteristic,  and  are  generally  (not  always)  associated  with 
the  highest  development  of  the  wool-bearing  aptitude,  Nature, 
uncontrolled  in  her  breeding  operations,  seeks  to  perpetuate 
race  characteristics  alone,  so  that  the  labor  and  skill  of  man 
must  continually  intervene  to  preserve  certain  desirable  features 
in  the  individual.  Hence  a  somewhat  greater  degree  of  wrink- 
liness  is  permissible  in  the  ram  than  is  desirable  in  the  progeny, 
as  a  counter-check  to  this  tendency  toward  reversion.  But, 
whatever  the  keeper  of  the  stud-flock  may  choose,  the  judicious 
wool-grower,  knowing  that  a  nearly  plain  sheep  is  best  fitted  to 
cope  with  wind,  r.nd  rain,  and  snow,  and  is  easiest  to  shear, 
will  look  well  to  it  that  his  rams  shall  not  have  the  skin  too 
heavily  folded. 

The  breeders  and  wool-growers  of  Vermont,  Western  New 
York,  Northern  Ohio,  and  Michigan,  carried  the  wrinkly  habit 
of  the  Merino  to  a  higher  pitch  than  did  those  of  Ohio,  Penn- 
sylvania and  West  Virginia ;  and  coupled  with  this  was  a 
shorter  and  more  yolky  staple.  These  facts  have  established  for 
the  chps  of  the  first-named  Stiites,  a  lower  price,  by  two  or 
three  cents,  in  the  Boston  and  Philadelphia  markets,  than  is 
paid  for  the  latter.  To  this,  however,  there  is  one  exception, 
namely  :  that  the  wools  of  Northern,  or  rather  Northern  Cen- 
tral Ohio,  seU  from  one  to  three  cents  higher  than  those  of 
Southern  Ohio,  which  is  due  to  their  greater  uniformity  of 
breeding,  and  more  thorough  preparation  for  market. 

Delaine  Merino.  —  The  longer  stapled  and  plainer  sheep  of 
the  three  States  mentioned  above,  find  their  culmination  in 
Washington  County,  Pa.,  in  the  "Victor-Beall  Delaine  Merino," 
which  is  a  cross  between  the  old  Pennsylvania  "Black-top  "and 
the  "Spanish  Merino."  Their  " scale  of  points"  numbers  one 
hundred,  distributed  as  follows :  Constitution,  ten  ;  heavy 
round  the  heart,  six  ;  short,  heavy  neck,  six  ;  good  dewlap, 
five  ;  broad  back,  eight ;  well-sprung  rib,  five  ;  short  legs,  six ; 


26  THE   AMEEICAIf   MERIXO 

heavy  bone,  eight ;  small,  sharp  foot,  ten  ;  length  of  staple,  one 
year's  growth,  three  inches,  eight ;  density  of  fleece,  eight ; 
darkish  cast  on  top,  five  ;  opening  up  white,  five  ;  with  good 
flow  of  white  oil,  five  ;  good  crimp  in  staple,  five.  Weight  of 
rams  at  maturity  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
weight  of  ewes  at  maturity,  not  less  than  one  hundred  pounds. 
This  family  of  sheep  has  been  bred  and  kept  in  large  flocks, 
without  housing  and  without  pampering.  They  have  been  bred 
also,  to  produce  a  short,  sharp,  and  shapely  hoof,  in  order  to 
avoid  one  of  tbe  greatest  curses  of  the  Merino,  a  spongy,  clubby 
hoof,  and  a  consequent  predisposition  to  foot-rot. 

National  Improved  Saxony. — This  is  the  designation  adopted 
by  the  present  breeders  of  this  fine  class  of  sheep,  whose  seat  is 
also  in  Washington  County,  Pa.  They  have  a  scale  of  points 
numbering  one  hundred,  eighty  of  which  admit  to  register, 
though  no  animal  is  eligible  whose  fleece  grades  in  fineness  be- 
low XXX  (the  two  grades  above  being  picklock  and  picknic). 
The  points  in  the  scale  are  otherwise  about  the  same  as  those  in 
the  "Delaine"  Register,  though  they  tolerate  no  wrinkles,  and 
only  a  slight  dewlap.  Constitution  and  evenness  of  fleece 
("  well  covered  on  belly, face  and  legs"),  are  each  fifteen  points, 
which  is  well,  in  view  of  the  ancient,  hereditary  defects  of  the 
Saxon.  Mr.  J.  G.  Clark,  Secretary  of  their  Register,  writes  me 
that  their  rams,  when  full-grown,  weigh  from  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  some 
have  gone  over  that ;  ewes,  eighty  to  one  hundred  pounds  and 
over. 

Black-Top  Merino.— Mr.  W.  G.  Berry,  Secretary  of  the  As- 
sociation, writes  me  that  the  **  Black-top  Merino"  breeders  have 
in  press  a  Register  of  about  seventy  flocks,  principally  in  Wash- 
ington county.  Pa.  In  default  of  more  accurate  information,  I 
append  the  following  extract  from  The  Shepherd's  National 
Journal.  The  editor,  Mr.  E.  J.  Hiatt,  a  veteran  breeder  of 
American  Merinos,  says :  "  The  purity  of  the  blood  has  not 
been  questioned."  He  adds  :  *  *  We  have  been  acquainted  with 
flocks  tor  more  than  twenty-five  years  in  which  this  blood  pre- 
dominated. The  quality  of  the  wool  was  good.  Specimens 
were  exhibited  at  the  Pittsburgh  and  Wheeling  Fairs  last  fall. 
In  some  respects  they  showed  a  marked  improvement  over  their 
ancestors  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  since.  The  strongest 
improvement  is  noticeable  in  their  increased  size  and  their 
heavier  fleeces.     In  size,  they  ai-e  possibly  a  little  heaviei*  than 


FOR   WOOL  Aiq^D    MUTTO^sT.  37 

the  American  Merinos,  and  longer  in  the  legs,  neck  and  head. 
They  also  shear  lighter  fleeces.  Much  of  it  grades  XX  and  XXX 
delaine.  The  head,  legs  and  belly  are  not  covered  with  as  long 
or  compact  a  fleece  as  would  be  desirable." 

As  this  work  goes  to  press,  the  expected  Vol.  I.  of  the  Black- 
top Spanish  Merino  Register  makes  its  appearance.  I  quote 
two  paragraphs,  as  to  blood  and  scale  of  points  : 

"  Sheep  must  be  purely  bred  from  the  importation  of  Merino 
sheep  from  Spain  in  the  year  1802,  as  bred  by  W.  R.  Dickinson. 

"Constitution,  fifteen  points;  size,  twelve  points;  general 
appearance,  three  points ;  body,  fifteen  points ;  head,  five 
points  ;  neck,  four  points  ;  legs  and  feet,  ten  points  ;  covering, 
eight  points ;  quahty,  seven  points ;  density,  seven  points ; 
length,  eight  points ;  oil,  six  points  ;  total,  one  hundred  points.'* 


CHAPTER    III. 
IXEECE. 

Structure  of  the  Wool-Fiber.— The  wool-fiber  is  made  up 
of  a  root,  and  a  stem  or  shaft,  continuous  with,  and  growing 
out  of  the  root.  The  root  exhibits  a  flask-shaped  enlargement, 
which  fits  down  somewhat  socket-like  upon  a  very  small  papilla 
or  bulb  in  the  bottom  of  the  fiber-sack  ;  and  this  little  bulb  is 
the  feeder  of  the  fiber,  the  germ  of  it,  which  is  able  to  produce 
a  new  one  if  the  old  one  is  plucked  out.  The  shaft  of  the  fiber 
is  composed  of  an  outer  cortex,  an  inner  medulla,  or  marrow 
(though  in  a  majority  of  wool-fibers  this  marrow  is  hollow 
nearly  to  the  tip),  and,  thirdly,  an  intermediate  fibrous  portion, 
constituting  two-thirds  of  the  substance  of  the  fiber. 

The  cortex  -is  formed  by  the  growth  of  cells ;  these  cells, 
lengthening  o'.it  and  becoming  flat,  assume  the  form  of  scales, 
these  being  produced  one  after  another,  just  as  a  roof  is  made 
by  the  laying  of  one  course  of  shingles  after  another,  overlap- 
ping each  other.  (Vegetable  fibers  grow  at  the  top,  but  hair 
and  wool  fibers  grow  at  the  root,  the  new  portion  constantly 
pushing  out  the  old).  The  scales,  overlapping  each  other,  with 
free  edges,  constitute  the  felting  property  of  wool,  which  hair, 
being  smooth,  possesses  to  a  very  limited  degree,  or  not  at  all. 


38  THE   AMERICAN   MEEIXO 

This  lapped  arrangement  of  the  scales  of  the  cortex,  can  be  de- 
tected by  the  touch,  but  not  by  the  eye  ;  let  a  fiber  be  drawn 
between  the  thumb  and  finger  from  root  to  tip,  and  it  will  pass 
smoothly  and  sweetly  through,  but  if  it  is  drawji  the  other  way 
it  will  go  roughly.  A  hair  will  go  about  as  smoothly  one  way 
as  the  other.  When  a  quantity  of  wool  is  pressed,  rubbed  or 
beaten,  the  free  edges  of  the  scales  interlock  in  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  places,  and  the  whole  is  bound  together  in  a  close,  dense 
mass  ;  it  is  felted. 

Round  and  Flat  Fibers. — Although  wool,  as  well  as  hair,  is 
of  a  tubular  construction,  yet  the  cylindrical  form  varies  with 
the  climate.  A  cross-section  of  a  fiber  of  wool,  if  strictly  cir- 
cular, denotes  that  it  has  been  grown  in  a  cold  northern  climate, 
and  is  lank,  long,  and  soft ;  but  if  the  cross-section  shows  a 
flat-sided  or  oval  hair  in  the  extreme,  then  the  wool  or  hair  is 
of  tropical  growth,  and  is  crisp  and  frizzled.  There  is  a  change 
in  these  animal  downs  as  we  ascend  from  the  equator  to  the 
higher  latitudes  ;  hence  our  better  class  wool  can  only  be  grown 
in  temperate  climates.  Too  hot  a  climate  yields  a  wool  too 
crisp  and  too  frizzly  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  too  cool  a  cli- 
mate, though  yielding  a  wool  that  is  soft  to  an  extreme  degree, 
gives  too  little  of  the  curl  or  frizzle  for  many  manufacturing 
purposes.  This  curl  or  waviness  varies  in  different  kinds  of 
"wool.  The  long  Leicester  wool  has  about  eight  or  nine  of 

these  waves  or  curls  per  inch,  but  in  a  fine  Ohio  wool  there  are 
as  many  as  thirty  to  thirty-three  waves  or  curls  per  inch. 

The  CrIjMP. — This  is  one  of  the  nice  points  of  a  first-rate 
Merino  fieece.  While  the  hairs  of  the  horse  or  the  ox  are 
straight,  the  wool-fibers  of  the  Merino  are  beautifully  wavy  or 
crimped,  and  in  the  best-bred  fleeces  this  crimp  is  perceptible 
by  the  naked  eye  to  the  very  tip  of  the  fiber,  not  being  lost  in  a 
dark  clot  or  induration.  This  crimp  is  caused  by  frequent,  but 
somewhat  irregular,  well-marked,  and  more  or  less  spirally  ar- 
ranged thickenings  of  the  cortex  of  the  fiber.  These  thicken- 
nings  of  the  cortical  layer  occur  first  on  one  side  of  the  fiber, 
then  on  the  other,  which  gives  it  its  wavy  and  sinuous  char- 
acter. 

Length  and  Diaivieter.  —  The  difference  in  the  length  of 
staple  or  fiber  of  the  different  breeds  of  sheep  is  very  remark- 
able, extending  from  the  longest  combing  wool  to  the  shortest 
clothing  staple.  There  is  a  gradation  of  seventeen  and  a  half 
inches ;  the  longest  staple  being  eighteen  inches,  and  the  short- 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOIS'.  29 

est  half  an  inch  long,  and  the  different  breeds  and  crosses  fill 
up  a  graduated  scale  between  these  extreme  points.  While  the 
finest  Silesian  will  yield  a  fiber  one-fifteen  hundredtli  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  a  Cotswold  fiber  will  be  double  the  size. 

This  idea  of  measuring  the  size  of  fibers  of  wool  with  a  micro- 
scope, is  not  a  new  one  ;  it  was  done  thirty  years  or  more  ago, 
but  was  of  no  practical  benefit.  A  wool  sorter,  who  has  worked 
at  the  business  from  his  youth  up,  without  intermission,  and 
whose  eyes  have  failed  him  so  that  he  cannot  read  a  daily  paper 
without  glasses,  will  tell  without  their  aid  the  relative  size  of 
the  fibers  of  wool  so  that  the  different  qualities  of  cloth  will  be 
uniform,  far  more  so  than  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
could  select  them  with  his  microscope.  But  the  microscope  has 
shown  us  one  very  interesting  fact,  which  the  finest  touch  of 
the  expert  would  hardly  have  detected,  namely  :  tliat  while  the 
hair  from  the  ox  or  horse,  which  falls  out  yearly,  tapers  its 
whole  length,  the  Merino  wool  fiber  tapers  only  for  a  short  dis- 
tance at  the  top  ;  and  when  this  hoggetty  point  has  been  shorn 
off  with  the  first  or  lamb's  fieece,  the  fibers  ever  afterward 
remain  of  the  same  diameter  throughout  their  whole  length. 

How  THE  Wool  Fiber  is  Plaxted.— We  have  considered 
the  fiber  itself,  somewhat ;  now  let  us  turn  to  the  follicle,  or 
sack,  out  of  which  it  grows.  This  is  formed  of  the  epidermis 
and  the  dermis  of  the  sheep's  skin,  turned  inward  and  pro- 
longed in  a  very  minute  cylinder,  which  sometimes  penetrates 
the  tissues  of  the  body  one-twelfth  of  an  inch.  The  blood- 
vessels are  distributed  in  minute  branches  in  the  walls  of  this 
follicle,  thickest  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  and  they  supply  nourish- 
ment to  the  germ  at  the  bottom  of  the  sack,  which  molds  it 
into  the  substance  of  the  fiber.  Besides  the  wool-follicle,  or 
fiber  sack,  there  are  two  other  kinds  :  the  sweat  follicle,  and 
the  yolk  follicle,  both  of  which  are  only  about  half  as  deep  as 
the  wool  follicle.  The  sweat  follicle  has  its  mouth  directly  on 
the  surface  of  the  skin,  this  mouth  being  a  pore  :  but  the  yolk 
follicle  empties  into  the  wool  follicle  near  the  mouth  of  the 
latter.  The  shaft  of  the  fiber  does  not  fit  perfectly  tight  in  its 
sheath  or  sack  ;  this  leaves  space  for  the  yolk  to  surround  the 
fiber  down  to  its  very  root.  In  this  space,  also,  parasites  some- 
times harbor,  such  as  the  scab  insect.  The  yolk  is  for  the  lubri- 
cation of  the  fiber,  to  prevent  it  from  felting  with  its  neighbors, 
while  on  the  sheep's  back.  The  free  edges  of  the  scales  on  the 
fibeij  like  little  barbs  pointing  toward  the  tip,  continually  work 


30  THE   AMERICAl^   MERIKO 

the  yolk  outward  toward  the  tip  and  at  the  same  time  expel 
dirt  from  the  fleece.  Thus  we  see  how  it  is  that  the  Merino, 
which  has  the  finest  and  best  felting  wool  (in  others  words, 
fibers  with  the  greatest  number  of  scales  to  the  linear  inch), 
needs  also  the  greatest  amount  of  yolk. 

Sorts  in  the  Fleece. — The  keen-eyed  professional  sorter 
tears  a  fleece  into  several  sorts.  *'  He  will  rapidly  break  off  the 
coarse  skirts  for  one  sort ;  then  the  head,  and,  perhaps,  if  the 
fleece  is  a  cross  between  a  native  and  some  fine  wooled  sheep, 
he  will  discover  a  coarse  streak  running  down  the  nape  of  the 
neck  nearly  to  the  shoulders.  This  also  he  breaks  out,  and 
places  with  the  sort  to  which  it  belongs.  The  shoulders  yield 
the  finest  sort  of  the  fleece,  and  the  sides  a  sort  below.  In  this 
way  each  fleece  is  broken  into  at  least  three  and  often  five  dif- 
ferent sorts.  A  large  factory  has  generally  as  many  as  eight 
clothing  sorts,  to  which,  where  worsteds  are  made,  are  added 
as  many  long  sorts — combing  and  delaine.  On  the  sorting 
board  the  fleece  loses  its  former  identity.  It  is  no  longer  known 
as  fine,  XX,  half-blood,  or  by  any  other  familiar  name.  Each 
fleece  is  resolved  into  first,  second,  third,  etc.,  down  to  the 
bottom.  The  shoulder  of  the  quarter  blood  rests  in  the  bin 
with  the  skirt  of  the  full-blooded  fleece,  and  the  skirt  of  the 
half  blood  may  mingle  in  yarn  with  the  shoulder  of  a  common 
fleece.  So  unerring  is  the  discernment  of  the  best  sorters  that 
under  microscopic  tests  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  they  can 
assort  fibers  as  to  fineness  within  a  ten-thousandth  of  an  inch." 
— American  Slieep  Breeder. 

In  the  Merino  fleece,  the  wool  on  1  and  2  in  the  diagram 
(Fig.  3),  is  finest,  longest,  and  strongest ;  3  and  12,  short,  but 
close  ;  4,  rather  longer,  a  shade  lower  than  3  ;  5  and  6,  slightly 
coarser,  not  so  close,  and  apt  to  be  weak  in  fiber  ;  8,  lower  still, 
and  termed  the  britch  or  breech  ;  7,  good  length,  but  slightly 
lower  in  quality  than  1  and  2  ;  9,  shorter,  and  loses  vitality  as 
compared  with  better  parts ;  10,  short  and  generally  frowsy ; 
11,  shorter  than  12  ;  13,  the  cap  ;  dry  and  harsh  ;  14,  fribby,  and 
and  of  little  value  ;  9,  10,  11,  13  and  14  constitute  the  skirt 

To  economize  the  number  of  sorts,  is  very  injudicious ;  as 
good,  even  sorts  cannot  be  made  without  strict  adherence  to  the 
division  of  the  fleece  into  its  separate  parts,  so  as  never  to 
allow  the  ridg(^  to  adhere  to  the  shoulder,  or  similar  errors. 
Exception  may  be  made  in  cases  of  high-bred  wool,  up  to 
seven-eighths  blood  and  above,  as  here  the  distinction  is  so 


FOE  WOOL  AND   MUTTON.  31 

trifling  between  the  shoulder  and  other  parts  that  a  mere  skirt- 
ing is  needed. 

Grades  of  Wool.— There  are  two  great  divisions  into  which 
wool  is  graded — carding,  or  clothing  wool,  and  combing  wool. 
The  clothing  staple  may  be  very  much  crimped,  and  very  short, 
since  the  fibers  are  mingled  in  every  way  by  the  cards,  leaving 
the  ends  to  project  in  a  nap  wliich  conceals  the  warp  and  woof  ; 
but  combing  wool  should  be  long  and  straight,  since  the  fibers 
are  to  be  laid  side  by  side,  end  to  end,  and  spun  into  yam  for 


'Fig.  3.— niAGKAM  OF  FLEECE. 

worsted  goods.  The  finer  the  fleece  the  shorter  the  staple 
which  can  be  used  for  combing.  A  coarse  combing  wool  ought 
to  be  six  inches  long,  while  a  fine  XX  staple  only  two  inches 
long  could  be  combed,  though  it  should  be  two  and  one-half. 
Coarse  fleeces  are  not  graded  vciy  closely,  while  fine  fleeces  are 
subjected  to  closer  grading.  A  staple  an  inch  and  a  half  long 
could  be  worked  upon  French  combs  ;  but  for  English  machin- 
ery, the  length  of  the  staple  must  be  determined  by  the  machines 
following  the  combs.  The  ability  of  a  Noble  comb  to  handle 
short  wool  is  not  the  guide  for  the  buyer  of  wool  for  the  Eng- 
lish system.  The  good  qualities  of  pure  breed,  soundness  and 
evenness  of  wool,  from  well-fed  and  carefully  handled  j^oung 
sheep,  allow  a  margin  in  selection  in  favor  of  the  minimum. 


32  THE  AMEKICAIT  MEEINO 

length  of  staple.    A  diagram  will  help  to  an  understanding  of 
this  subject : 

Superflue |  ^XXX^'  [ Saxony. 

v:v,^         \  10  per  cent,  combing  (delaine)  I    XX.    )  -.r^  • 

line — ]  25        "  ».        ^      u      M      ^      ^Merino. 

■Kx^^i.,^  )  50  per  cent,  combine  (  No.  1.  I  Quarter  -  blood  and 

Medium|75^    "  '•      ' ]  No.  2.  r  Downs. 

Coarse-    [  Cotswold,  Leicester, 
Combing.  \      Lincoln. 
Carpet.  [-Chourro. 

Whence  these  Grades  Come.— Picklock  and  XXX  are  now 
confined  almost  exclusively  to  Washington  coimity,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  "Pan-handle,"  where  a  few  flocks  are  still  care- 
fully bred,  yielding  the  Electoral  or  ' '  noble  "  wool.  In  the  last 
three  decades,  the  amount  of  Saxony  has  much  decreased, 
while  the  proportion  of  fine  and  medium  to  the  whole  product 
of  the  nation,  has  vastly  increased,  owing  to  the  spread  of  the 
American  Merino.  Occasionally,  a  Merino  fleece  grades  XXX 
("XX  and  above"  is  intermediate),  but  here  a  touch  of  Saxon 
blood  may  be  suspected. 

The  greater  part  of  American  Merino  wool  grades  XX,  and  of 
this  the  best  samples  come  from  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  West 
Virginia.  The  grade  known  as  X  is  generally  obtained  from 
the  full-blood  Merino  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  and  also 
from  the  finer  crosses  (half-blood  and  above),  though  the  latter 
are  often  graded  into  "combing,'  and  designated  as  delaine. 
Central  Wisconsin  has  many  choice  delaine  flocks ;  those  of 
Messrs.  Eich  &  McConnell,  of  Ripon,  have  yielded  staples  four 
and  seven-eighths  and  four  and  five-eighths  inches  in  length., 
respectively.  Michigan  wools  long  suffered  from  the  same 
faults  as  those  of  Vermont  and  Western  New  York,  short  and 
gummy ;  but  lately  much  improvement  is  manifest,  and  they 
often  rank  with  the  best  Ohio. 

Missouri  now  furnishes  a  considerable  quantity  of  combing 
wool,  the  Merinos  of  that  State  having  b^en  crossed  on  the  large 
native  stock.  The  greater  part  of  No.  1  and  No.  2  now  como 
from  this  cross.  Kentucky  yields  a  large  percentage  of  comb- 
ing wool.  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado  wools  have  greatly 
improved  in  the  last  decade  ;  they  now  fall  only  five  to  ten 
cents  the  scoured  pound,  behind  the  best  Ohio.  California  and 
Texas  wools  rarely  ever  yield  any  combing  wool,  but  would  do 
BO,  were  it  not  for  the  semi-annual  clippings.  At  the  close  of 
the  war,  Texas  wool  was  fit  only  for  carpet  filling  or.  at  best, 
for  coarse  blankets ;  nov/  there  are  large  flocks  that  grade  up 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON".  33 

to  X,  and  above.  Twenty  years  ago,  Santa  Fe  wool  was  fit  only 
for  carpets  or  horse  blankets  ;  but  the  introduction  of  Merino 
blood  has  raised  the  grade  up  to  No.  1  and  low  X.  Montana 
fleeces  are  the  best  of  the  whole  Territorial  clip. 

A  considerable  combing  and  delaine  wool  comes  from  Oregon 
and  Washington  Territory.  Vermont  always  furnishes  a  class 
of  wool  which  will  yield  a  large  percentage  of  fine  combing, 
together  with  a  good  deal  of  unwashed  and  un-merchantable. 

Effect  of  Climate  ox  the  Fiber. — It  was  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Randall,  that  a  hot  climate,  with  its  consequent  rankness  of 
vegetation,  would  coarsen  the  fiber  of  sheep  taken  to  it  from  a 
colder  region.  This  opinion  does  not  appear  to  be  sustained  by 
modern  investigators.  Mr.  G.  W.  Bond,  an  eminent  expert  of 
Boston,  exhibited  to  a  scientific  society  some  skins  of  Arabian 
sheep  ;  some  of  them  covered  with  hair  alone,  and  others  with 
similar  hair,  but  having  a  thick  undergrowth  of  wool,  which 
proved  to  be  as  fine  as  the  finest  Saxon.  Mr.  Mark  R.  CockeriLl 
imported  some  Saxons  in  1824  or  1826,  and  kept  them  in  Missis- 
sippi (Madison  County),  a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  the  World's 
Fair,  in  London,  1851,  samples  of  their  fleeces  were  brought  into 
competition  with  German  wools.  The  latter  were  recognized 
by  the  jury  as  the  finest  and  longest  on  exhibition,  but  those  of 
Mr.  Cockerill  received  two  prize  medals,  of  the  same  grade  as 
German,  and  were  reported  by  the  expert  employed  by  the  jury 
"as  most  approximating  to  the  character  of  Gei*man  wools.' 
Mr.  Graham,  the  author  of  a  popular  hand-book  on  Australian 
sheep,  states  it  was  the  general  belief  that  the  climate  of  DarUng 
Downs,  a  region  within  the  tropics,  was  too  hot  for  the  growth 
of  good  wool ;  but  that  the  superintendent  of  the  Clyde  Com- 
pany, by  a  "  careful  and  judicious  system  of  selection,"  suc- 
ceeded in  producing  "  as  good  wool  as  any  grown  in  Austraha, 
although  it  still  bore  the  name  of  hot-country  wool.'" 

Effect  of  High  Feeding. — Prof.  Sanson,  an  eminent  zooto- 
mist  of  France,  in  a  report  to  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences, 
which  is  perhaps  the  highest  scientific  body  in  the  world,  gives 
the  following  summary  of  the  results  of  his  investigations  on 
this  subject : 

"  1.  The  precocious  development  of  Merino  sheep,  having  the 
effect  to  carry  their  aptitude  to  produce  flesh  to  the  highest  de- 
gree that  sheep  can  attain,  exercises  no  influence  on  the  flne- 
ness  of  their  wool.  This  preserves  the  diameter  which  it  would 
have  had  it  developed  in  normal  conditions,  for  the  reason  that 


34  THE   AMERICAN   MERIKO 

tliis  diameter  depends   upon   the  individual  and   hereditary- 
aptitudes. 

2.  The  influence  exercised  by  the  precocious  development 
upon  the  hair  of  the  wool  exhibits  itself  by  an  augmentation  of 
the  length  of  the  same  hair  ;  its  growth,  resulting  from  the 
formation  of  epidermic  cellules  in  the  hair-bulb,  being  more 
active.  There  is,  therefore,  more  woolly  substance  produced  in 
the  same  time. 

3.  The  precocious  development  does  not  vary  the  number  of 
hair  or  wool  bulbs  existing  for  a  determinate  extent  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  skin.  It  produces,  therefore,  no  change  in  what  is 
vulgarly  called  the  tasse  (density  of  staple).  The  modifications 
which  the  staple  of  wool  presents  in  this  respect  are  only  ap- 
parent. By  increasing  the  length  of  the  hairs,  the  precocity 
necessarily  increases  that  of  the  locks  of  wool  which  they  form, 
which  makes  the  fleece  appear  less  dense." 

To  sum  up  all  in  a  word,  high  feeding  increases  the  length  of 
the  staple  and  the  secretion  of  yolk,  but  not  the  diameter  of  the 
fiber,  or  the  number  of  fibers  to  the  square  inch  of  skin.  Very 
high  feeding,  or  pampering,  increases  the  yolk  in  a  geometrical 
ratio  to  the  fleece.  This  ought  to  operate  as  a  safeguard  for  the 
protection  of  the  sheep  from  this  pernicious  practice ;  but  it 
does  not  wholly,  for,  unfortunately,  the  "  big  fleeces  "  of  the 
fairs  and  pubhc  shearings  are  always  weighed  "in  the  gi-ease," 
instead  of  scoured.  The  cliief  defense  instituted  by  Nature 
against  this  evil  of  pampering  is,  that  sheep  so  treated  often 
suddenly  and  mysteriously  die. 

Length  and  Density. — A  fiber  two  and  a  half  inches  long 
which  is  perfectly  sound  and  true,  is  better  every  way  than  one 
which  is  three  inches  long,  but  has  a  -'joint"  or  weak  spot 
caused  by  poverty  or  sickness  in  the  animal,  which  will  cause 
one-half  inch  to  break  off  in  the  combs.  It  is  better,  because 
the  existence  and  nourishment  of  the  sheep  during  the  growth 
of  that  half  inch  cost  something,  while  that  half  inch  is  prac- 
tically a  total  loss  to  the  manufacturer,  and  tends  to  discredit 
both  the  fleece  and  the  grower. 

No  one  will  dispute  the  proposition  that  it  should  be  the 
cardinal  object  of  the  wool-grower  to  produce  a  sheep  having 
the  greatest  possible  number  of  fibers  to  the  square  inch  of  skin, 
and  those  fibers  of  the  greatest  possible  length.  The  striving 
for  the  attainment  of  either  of  these  objects  has  more  or  less 
tendency  to  defeat  or  repress  the  other  ;  yet  not  so  much  as  a 


FOR   WOOL   AlfD   MUTTO:?^.  35 

certain  school  of  breeders  would  have  us  believe.  Density, 
though  the  expression  of  an  exceedingly  valuable  constituent  of 
the  best  fleece,  is  an  illusiTe  term,  or  perhaps  more  accurately, 
a  term  liable  to  be  misapplied.  When  a  fleece  on  the  back  of  a 
sheep  is  grasjyed  in  the  hand  and  offers  a  firm  resistance  to  com- 
pression, presents  a  good  handful,  it  is  called  dense  by  super- 
ficial men,  without  further  examination.  But  it  may  not  be 
true  density  at  all ;  it  may  be  yolkiness  carried  to  the  exagger- 
ated state.  A  fiber  is  entitled  to  so  much  yolk  as  will  thor- 
oughly lubricate  it  from  end  to  end  and  make  it  glisten ;  but 
this  substance  should  not  collect  iu  lumps.  A  fleece  with  a  fiber 
three  inches  in  length,  may  carry  as  much  weight  of  yolk  as  one 
of  only  two  inclies,  yet  not  feel  or  be  pronounced  by  the  award- 
ing committee  as  "  dense"  as  the  latter. 

Strength  of  Dry  and  Yolkt  Wools. — Some  years  ago  I 
addressed  inquiries  to  a  number  of  experts,  as  to  the  compara- 
tive strength  of  dry  and  yolky  wools ;  and,  contrary  to  my  pre- 
vious belief,  they  all  replied  that  yolky  wools  are  the  stronger 
of  the  two.  The  explanation  of  this  seeming  paradox  is  this  : 
Grood  feeding  makes  good  wool,  and  it  also  makes  yolk.  Where 
you  find  a  yolky  flock  of  sheep^  you  are  almost  certain  to  find 
a  liberal  feeder  and  a  pains-taking  shepherd.  The  burden  of 
yolk,  especially  if  it  is  collected  into  pasty  lumps,  is  distasteful 
to  the  manufacturer,  and  causes  a  higher  percentage  of  loss  in 
the  scouring-tub ;  but  at  the  end  of  the  cleansing  process,  w© 
are  tolerably  certain  to  find  a  staple  true  and  sound. 

The  wools  on  the  Vermont  side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  are 
much  more  yolky  than  those  on  the  New  Hampshire  side  ;  but 
the  New  England  manufacturers  are  well  aware  that  they  are 
stronger.  Vermont  wools  lose  most  in  the  scouring-tub ;  New 
Hampshire  wools  most  in  the  cards  or  combs.  A  certain  amount 
of  yolk  conduces  to  soundness  and  strength  by  protecting  the 
fiber  from  dust,  alkali  and  rain. 

COTTING. — We  shall  perhaps  best  arrive  at  a  definition  of 
first-rate  Merinp  wool  by  a  statement  of  the  faults  which  are 
liable  to  occur  in  a  fleece.  Getting  generally  develops  itself  in 
the  winter,  as  a  result  of  a  diseased  condition  of  the  sheep,  and 
when  shearing-time  comes  the  animal  is  pronounced  '*  fleece- 
grown."  Some  part  or  all  of  the  fleece  is  completely  fulled  or 
matted  together,  so  that  it  can  be  thrown  about  or  held  up  by 
one  lock  as  if  it  were  a  pelt.  But,  as  the  sheep  has  by  this  time 
generally  recovered  from  its  iUness,  most  of  the  fibers  will  be 


36  THE   AMERICAi^T   MERIXO 

found  to  have  parted  from  the  body,  and  the  fleece  will  be 
clinging  to  the  skin  by  a  veiy  few  fibers,  so  that  the  shearer  can 
strip  it  off  rapidly.  Such  a  fleece  has  a  very  low  value,  and  it 
is  a  clear  fraud  to  throw  it  into  the  pile  and  attempt  to  sell  it 
for  sound  wool. 

The  nature  of  the  felting  quality  has  already  been  explained, 
and  this  unnatural  felting  is  caused  by  the  diying-up  of  the 
yolk-glands  from  disease.  When  we  consider  the  innumerable 
particles  of  dirt,  chaff,  seeds,  etc.,  which  fall  upon  the  fleece  in 
a  year,  it  is  wonderful  what  a  clean,  bright  interior  is  exhibited 
when  we  open  up  the  unwashed  fleece  on  the  sheep's  back  in 
the  spring.  The  useful  purpose  of  the  minute  barbs,  or  free 
edges  of  the  cortical  scales  is  manifest ;  without  them  the  fleece 
would  become  a  mass  of  filth. 

The  most  frequent  cause  of  cotting,  the  ammoniacal  exhala- 
tions of  an  uncleaned  stable,  will  be  further  discussed  in  a  sub- 
sequent chapter. 

Black-Top  and  Clots. — A  perfect  Merino  fleece  will  show 
the  crimp  to  the  extreme  outer  end  of  the  fiber  ;  it  is  needless 
to  remark  that  there  are  not  many  perfect  fleeces.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  indurations:  one  is  called  the  "Black-top,"  and 
the  other  may  be  designated  as  the  "  Gray  Shoulder-Clot."  The 
Black-top,  extends  the  whole  length  of  the  fleece,  being  densest 
along  the  back-bone,  and  extending  down  the  sides  moi-e  or  less, 
to  the  belly.  In  some  sheep,  the  Black-top  renders  the  fleece 
almost  water-proof  ;  during  the  summer  no  amount  of  rain  will 
dissolve  the  gummy,  pasty,  tar-black  sheeting  of  the  fleece,  or 
wash  this  down  into  it,  as  common  yolk  is  washed.  In  the 
summer,  this  gummy  top  is  soft  to  the  touch,  but  in  winter, 
especially  if  the  animal  is  confined,  and  allowed  little  exercise 
to  warm  its  blood,  it  becomes  separated  into  homy  lumps,  each 
one  tipping  a  lock  of  wool,  and  as  hard  as  a  board. 

Though  bad  enough,  this  is  not  so  objectionable  as  the  gray 
Shoulder-Clot.  Tliis  is  more  pronounced  on  the  shoulders  or 
withers,  but  frequently  extends  half-way  down  the  shoulders, 
and  more  or  less  along  the  backbone.  Sometimes  tliis  seems  to 
be  a  constitutional  defect,  but  generally  it  is  caused  by  poverty  ; 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  is  so  feeble,  where  the  shoulders  are 
sharpened  thin,  that  Liiere  is  not  enough  animal  heat  to  keep 
the  yolk  liquid.  The  rain  disorganizes  and  de-vitalizes  the  yolk, 
washes  away  the  softer  parts  of  it,  and  the  residuum  coagulates, 
and  gums  the  locks  together.   In  a  short-fibered  fleece  (and  they 


FOE   WOOL   AND   MUTTOi^.  37 

generally  occur  in  this  sort),  the  locks  will  be  glued  together 
for  the  outer  half  of  their  length,  and  so  hard  as  to  require  a 
hammer  to  break  them  down.  A  sheep  with  these  clots  in  its 
fleece  ought  to  be  rejected  from  the  flock ;  they  are  an 
abomination  to  the  manufactui-er. 

"Jar."— This  is  properly  grare,  but  "Jar  "seems  to  be  per- 
manently incorporated  into  the  shepherd's  vocabulary.  It  is 
simply  hair,  but  it  is  hair  of  the  worst  kind  ;  wild,  coarse,  and 
frizzly,  utterly  refractory  in  the  cards,  combs,  and  dye-tub.  It 
is  of  tenest  seen  on  rams,  on  the  outer  surface  of  neck-folds,  and 
less  frequently  on  the  side-folds  and  hips.  In  Cotswold  sheep 
and  Angora  goats,  it  occurs  on  the  hips,  and  is  called  "  Kemp." 
Jar  is  not  found  on  a  feeble  sheep,  it  is  an  excrescence  of 
a  vigorous  animal.  Though  highly  objectionable  in  itself,  it 
marks  a  very  desirable  quality  ;  a  good  constitution.  Unless  it 
is  excessive  (short,  curly  jar  is  the  worst),  and  the  ram  is  im- 
perfect otherwise,  the  breeder  need  not  trouble  himself  much 
about  it,  as  it  seldom  occurs  on  ewes  and  wethers.  He  could 
afford  to  throw  away  part  of  the  ram's  fleece  for  the  sake  of  his 
constitution. 

"Jointed"  Wool. — Whatever  keep  the  shepherd  gives  his 
flock,  good,  bad' or  indifferent,  it  ought  to  be  regular.  Amid 
all  the  conflict  of  opinion  among  wool-growers,  as  to  the  effect 
of  different  feeds  on  the  staple,  one  thing  is  certain  :  regular 
feeding  makes  a  true  (even)  fiber.  To  employ  a  somewhat 
fanciful  illustration,  the  fiber  is  a  delicate  rod  on  which  every 
attack  of  disease,  every  protracted  spell  of  liunger  cuts  a  notch, 
and  thus  weakens  it.  The  reason  is  obvious.  Like  every  other 
part  of  the  body,  the  wool  is  nourished  by  the  blood.  If  there 
is  a  lack  of  feed  for  a  day  or  two,  or  an  attack  of  disease,  the 
blood  becomes  impoverished  to  that  extent,  and  secretes  in  the 
wool-follicles  less  matter  for  the  building-up  of  the  fiber.  It  is 
an  erroneous  belief  of  some  flock-masters,  that  a  period  of 
starving  or  disease  weakens  the  staple  along  the  whole  length. 
This  can  not  be.  As  previously  described  in  this  chapter,  the 
fiber  grows  by  the  continual  formation  of  new  cells  at  the  bot- 
tom. Every  day's  growth  is  a  complete  and  finished  product ; 
nothing  that  can  happen  afterward  can  change  its  diameter  or 
structure.  When  the  sh^e:)  dies,  the  fiber  stops  growing,  but 
so  long  as  fife  lasts,  it  must  keep  growing,  only  in  a  case 
where  the  blood  is  impoverished,  it  can  not  furnish  the  usual 
quantity  of  matter,  and  there  is  a  weak  place  formed. 


38  THE   AMERICAJ^"   MERIKO 

In  the  Far  West,  a  heavy  snow  covering  the  grass  for  several 
days,  sometimes  weakens  the  fibers  so  that  most  of  them  break 
near  the  skin,  from  their  own  weiglit,  and  the  fleece  falls  off. 

Clouded  Fleeces. — The  first  choice  of  fleece  roUs  off  from 
the  shears  elastic,  voluminous,  and  white  as  snow  ;  the  second 
choice  is  a  rich  buff-yellow,  or  golden  tint.  Fleeces  from  the 
prairies  or  the  adobe  flats  of  California  are  stained  dark  by  tho 
soil.  In  East  Tennessee  they  are  reddened  with  clay.  Bat 
sometimes  there  are  fleeces  shorn  from  sheep  that  are  kept  on 
the  cleanest  soils,  and  with  the  greatest  care,  that  are  disfigured 
by  large  saffron-colored,  or  lemon-colored  patches  along  the 
back  and  down  the  sides. 

These  may  be  produced  by  rain-water  trickling  down  through 
straw-roofed  sheds,  which,  for  this  reason,  are  a  nuisance.  But 
generally,  there  is  no  other  assignable  reason  than  a  disordered 
circulation  of  the  blood,  consequent  upon  a  lack  of  exercise  and 
an  irregular  system  of  housing.  If  an  attempt  is  made  to  house 
a  flock  through  the  winter,  it  ought  to  be  carried  out.  Sys- 
tematic exposure  is  better  than  a  housing  from  one  storm,  and 
a  wetting  in  the  next.  These  cloudy  places  do  not  necessarily 
injure  the  staple,  but  they  detract  from  the  beauty  and  salable- 
ness  of  the  fleece. 

Mold. — Energetic  flock-masters,  especially  in  the  Far  West 
where  they  have  vast  flocks  to  handle,  are  sometimes  tempted 
to  push  on  the  shearing,  when  the  sheep  are  wet  with  rain  or 
dew.  This  is  a  grave  error.  The  dry  parts  of  the  fleece  will 
not  absorb  the  moisture  sufficiently  to  prevent  mold,  and  this 
is  justly  offensive  to  the  manufacturer.  The  wishes  of  the 
manufacturer  are  generally  based  on  sound  business  consider- 
ations, not  emanating  from  caprice,  and  the  farmer  is  bound  by 
his  own  interest  to  give  them  reasonable  attention. 

Stuffing,  Strings,  Etc. — American  flock-masters  are  too 
prone  to  stuff  their  fleeces  with  unwashed,  with  tags,  dead 
wool,  parts  of  rams'  fleeces,  here  a  little,  there  a  little.  Our 
national  record  in  this  regard,  falls  below  the  Australian,  even 
below  that  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  buyer  or  commission 
agent  in  the  country,  may  pass  this  matter  over  lightly,  fear- 
ing to  estrange  his  men ;  but  he  knows  that  here  is  a  sure 
menace  of  claims  and  discounts,  and  so  quietly  operates  to  cover, 
if  he  can.  The  buyer  for  the  mill  feels  that  here  is  a  point 
where  his  vigilance,  though  sleepless,  may  be  entirely  inade- 
quate.   The  following  figures  relate  to  wools  carefully  selected 


FOR   WOOL   AKD   MUTTOK.  39 

I. 

to  avoid  burrs ;  the  "  Fribs  "  include  all  locks  too  short  for  comb- 
ing, taken  off  before  skirting,  but  not  the  skirts  themselves. 
The  yield  of  two  million  pouads  of  American  washed  combing 
\  fleeces,  mainly  from  Ohio  (one  million  pounds  being  Ohio  fine 
delaine),  sorted  in  one  year  in  a  worsted  mill,  was  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  fribs,  twenty  thousand 
pounds  of  buriy  clips,  and  twelve  thousand  pounds  of  strings  ; 
all  of  this  was  paid  for,  of  course,  as  combing  wool.  The  same 
treatment,  the  next  year,  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-four 
thousand  pounds  (one-sixth  the  quantity)  of  Australian  un- 
washed Merino  and  Cross  Bred  wool,  yielded  four  thousand 
pounds  of  fribs,  six  hundred  of  burry  clips,  and  less  than  one 
huudred  pounds  of  strings.  If  done  up  as  the  American  wool 
was,  this  Australian  lot  would  have  contained  twenty-five 
thousand  pounds  of  fribs  and  two  thousand  pounds  of  strings. 

Burrs,  Thistles,  Etc. — Burrs,  thistles  and  tar-marks,  are 
more  objectionable  than  the  same  weight  of  natural  yolk. 
Scouring  may  take  away  all  the  yolk,  while  some  remains  of 
the  former  may  obstinately  resist  all  machines  and  all  treat- 
ment, and  appear  as  an  incurable  defect  in  a  high-priced  fabric. 
Besides  this,  the  labor  of  the  sorter  (who  generally  works  by 
the  pound),  is  greatly  increased  by  burrs,  thistles,  etc.,  and  they 
may  thus  prove  a  tax  that  is  a  serious  inroad  upon  his  wages. 

Unevenness  — One  of  the  greatest  errors  the  farmer  can 
commit  is,  to  grow  mixed  sheep.  If  it  were  profitable  to  grow 
carpet  wools  at  all,  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  have  a  flock  of 
carpet-wool  sheep,  rather  than  one  containing  some  coarse, 
some  medimn,  some  fine,  some  superfine  ;  because  the  clip 
would  all  practically  grade  and  be  sold  as  coarse,  while  the 
maintenance  of  the  fine-wooled  sheep,  would  be  more  expensive 
than  that  of  the  coarse-fleeced.  Still  worse  than  this  mixed 
flock,  is  a  mixed  sheep;  that  is,  one,  which  from  ill-judged 
attempts  at  crossing,  has  a  coarse  streak  running  down  the  nape 
of  the  neck,  or  one,  which  from  mismanagement  in  breeding, 
has  white  and  long  wool  on  the  shoulder,  but  short,  yellow  and 
frowzy  wool  on  the  belly.  It  is  the  crowning  excellence  of  the 
pure-blood  American  Merino,  that  it  has  wool  very  nearly  of 
the  same  length  all  over  the  body. 


40 


THE   AMERICAH   MERIKO 


Sectional  Prices  of  Wool. — The  following  table  shows  the 
prices  of  wool  at  the  date  j2:iven,  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States,  with  some  foreign  kinds  : 

Chicago,  Oct.  20,  1884. 

WASHED  FLEECES. 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  West  Virginia. 

XX  and  above 34  @  36 

X 32  (cd  iiS 

No.  1 32(^34 

No.  3 39  @  31 

Common 24  (a)  26 


New  York,  Michigan,  Indiana  and  Wisconsin. 

X  and  above 26  @  30 

No.  1 30  @  33 

No.  2  and  Common 23  @  28 


>.^-il:^^ 


Combing  and  Delaine. 


-,■ .  r 


@  38 


Washed  Fine  Delaine 33 

Washed  Medium 34(a)37 

Washed  Coarse 36  (gi  30 

Unwashed  Medium 24  @  26 

Unwashed  Coarse 20  (c^  24 


Pulled  Wools. 


New  York  City  extra 

New  Yorl<  Citv  super 

New  York  City  Lambs  . . . . 
Eastern  and  Country  extra. 
Eastern  and  Country  super. 
Western  extra  and  super.. . 


.2.5  @  30 
.38  @  33 
.25  @  30 
.bO  @  33 
.33  @  35 
.23  @  27 


UNWASHED. 
Indiana.,  Missouri  and  Kentucky. 

Briqht. 

Fine f?0  @  22 

Medium 23  (ci)  26 

Coarse 19  @  21 

Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Territory. 

Choice. 

Kansas  and  Nebraska  Fine 17  (<^  18 

Kansas  and  Nebraska  Medium 18  (d)  20 

Utah  and  Wyominc:  Fine 18  (cd  20 

Utah  and  Wyoming  Medium 20  (cd  31 

Montana  Fine 30  (a)  33 

Montana  Medium 23  (^  3t 

Nevada 17  (a),  80 

Colorado  and  New  Mexico  Fine    17  (ob  18 

Colorado  and  New  ^loxico  Medium. .  .18  (S)  19 

Coarse  and  Carpet 14  (cb  16 

Black 14  @  16 


W-vf^-^i.'.    . 


Ordinm'y. 
17  (a  19 

19  (a  3d'  ^'  -  ^ 

17  @  19i;  .^o-A 


A  verage. 

15  (a)'l6 

16  (3)  18 
15  (®  17 

17  (a  30 

18  (a  30 
30  (ih  31 
13  (S  15 

15  (fb  17 

16  (d)  18 
13  (a  14 
13  @  13 


FOE  WOOL   AND   MUTTON. 


41 


Texas. 


Choice. 


Fine  Eastern f  20 

Medium  Eastern §  |  ~1 

Fine  Western g  ■{  Iti 

Medium  Western _Ph 

Improved  Mexican ^"^ 


[15 


22 

17 
18 
16 


Average. 

17  (ci)   18 

18  @  20 

14  @  15 

15  @  16 
13  (cd   14 


California,  and  Oregon. 


Spring  Clip,  Northern 20  @  24 

Spring  Clip,  Southern 15  @  18 

Spring  Clip,  low  grades  and  burry 10  (a)  15 

Fall  Clip,  Al 10  @  13 

Fall  Clip,  low  grades  and  burry 9  ({^  10 

Valley  Oregon,  A  1 21  @  23 

Valley  Oregon,  A  2 21  (cd  23 

Eastern  Oregon,  A  1 16  @  19 

Eastera  Oregon,  No.  2 16  @  19 

Georgia,  Lakb,  Etc. 

Georgia 22  @  23 

Lake 21  @  22 

Virginia  Medium 26  @  28 

Virginia  Coarse 20  (^  23 

Foreign  \^  cols. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 27  @  28 

Montevideo 29  @  31 

Australian 34  @  33 

Wool  Production. — The  following  table,  prepared  from  es- 
timates of  Mr.  James  Lynch,  of  New  York,  shows  the  recent 
enormous  development  of  sheep  husbandry  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi : 


Yea7'. 

^yashed. 

Bockj/  Moun- 
tains* 

Texas. 

Southern. 

Aggtegate. 

i«r7 

14n.ono.000 

ii.oon.nno 

7.000,000 

2.00". 000 

160.000,000 

iv.«     . .  . 

I50.ono/'0n 

lf5.000.OiW 

8.000,000 

3.000.000 

177,(  00.000 

1869 

134.000.000 

17,250.000 

7.000,000 

3,000.(  00 

162,250.000 

1S70 

130,000.000 

23,000,000 

7,00(1,000 

3.030.(  00 

103,000,001) 

1S71 

11 0.000.  nno 

25. 000.  nno 

8.000.000 

3.000.000 

146.000.000 

1872 

120,000.000 

27,000.000 

9,000,000 

4.000  000 

160,0(0.000 

1873 

12.-,  000. 000 

37.200.000 

9.000,000 

3,500.000 

174, 7(  0,000 

1874 

120,000  000  1 

44.500.000 

10.nP0.(K:0 

3,500.000 

178,000.000 

1875 

125.0(>0,000 

52.000,000 

12,000.000 

4,000,000 

193,000,000 

1876 

110.000.000 

70,250.000 

13  000.000 

5.000,000 

198,250.000 

3877 

117,000.000 

70,250,000 

14.000.000 

7,000.000 

208,250,000 

f  *Including  Pacific  Slope. 

The  following^  record  of  the  quarterly  average  prices  of  Ohio 
clothing  wool  (the  best  average  product  of  American  Merino 


42 


THE   AMEBICA]S^   MERIXO 


grades),  as  sold  in  the  Boston  market  during  the  last  seventeen 
years,  is  furnished  by  Mr.  George  William  Bond,  of  Boston  : 


Year. 

January. 

Avail. 

July. 

October. 

ISfifl 

$0.60 

«0  50  f  0.40 

1    ' 
$0.52  $0.45  $0.40 

$0.55 

$0.50  $0.40 

1 
$0.50  $0.45  $0  40 

18«)l 

45 

40 

37 

45|   37 

32 

40 

35 

32 

47 

47 

58 

1862 

*62 
*74i 

■  >  ■   •  .   .  .  * 

*50 
*76 
♦79 

... 



*47 
♦73* 

*83* 

•   •  •  • 

*58 

1863 

*70 

i8(;4..'. 

■  a  ■    • 

*1.03| 

18)5 

i.()2 

1.00 

9(j 

80   80 

75 

75 

73 

65 

75 

75 

65 

18t)6 

70 

65 

5i) 

65   60 

48 

70 

67 

60 

63 

60 

56 

1867 

68 

53 

50 

60   55 

50 

55 

49 

45 

48 

46 

40 

ISttS 

48 

43 

38 

50   48 

45 

46 

45 

43 

48 

48 

45 

18fi9 

50 

48 

50 
46 

48 
44 

.nO   50 
48   47 

4y 
40 

48 
46 

48 
45 

47 
43 

48 

48 

48 
48 

46 

1870 

45 

1871 

47 

46 

43 

50   52 

47 

62 

60 

55 

63 

62 

58 

1«72 

70 

67 

66 

80   8i) 

76 

72 

70 

65 

66 

60 

57 

1873 

70 

68 

65 

56   53 

48 

50 

48 

44 

54 

53 

47 

1874 

58 

54 

47 

56   5t) 

47 

53 

53 

46 

M 

54 

47 

1875 

55 

56 

47 

54   52 

46 

52 

49 

46 

48   50 

42 

1876 

48 

52 

42 

46   49 

40 

38 

35 

31 

45   40 

38 

*Averag 

e  pric 

e. 

The  Boston  record  of   Ohio   wool    prices,   from    the   same 
source,  is,  from  1840  to  1861,  as  foDows : 


Tears. 


Fine. 


Middle.    Long. 


1810... 

1841... 

1842*. 

1843... 

1844  .. 

1845... 

18^6... 

1847... 

1848... 

1849... 

1850 . . , 


$0.45 
50 


$0..36 
45 


50.31 
40 


41 

35 

42 

37 

361 

30 

34 

30 

47 

40 

32 

28 

41 

37 

47 

42 

30 

•m 

26 

2Gi 

3) 

21 

32 

36 


Tears. 


1851. 

1852. 

1853 

1854. 

1855. 

1856 

1857 

1858 

1859 

18()0. 

1861 


Fine. 

Middle. 

$0.41 

$0.38 

49 

45 

55 

50 

41 

36 

50 

42 

55 

47 

56 

47 

53 

46 

58 

47 

54 

47 

45 

45 

Long. 


$0.32 
40 
43 
32i 
34 
37 
41 
36 
*  35 
37 
50 


♦Price  all  round,  3^  to  35  cents. 

These  tables  show  that  long  wool  (from  the  mutton  breeds), 
has  shared  iu  the  fluctuations  of  fine  ;  has  risen  and  fallen  with 
considerable  uniformity,  when  the  latter  has  done  so.  The 
amount  of  fine  or  Merino  wool  produced  in  the  world,  since  the 
settlement  of  Australia  and  the  American  Territories,  has  in- 
creased enormously  out  of  proportion  to  coarse  wool ;  yet  the 
price  of  the  former  has  nearly  held  its  old  percentage  of  super- 
iority in  the  general  decline.  In  other  words,  the  addition  of 
two  hundred  million  Merinos  to  the  world's  flocks,  has  de- 
pressed the  price  of  their  wool  very  little  more  proportionately, 
than  the  addition  of  twenty-five  million  mutton  sheep  to  the 


FOR   wool,   AXD   MUTTON. 


43 


world's  supply  has  reduced  the  price  of  long  wool.  If  Merino 
wool  can  endure  this  vast  expansion,  and  hold  its  own  under  it 
so  well,  what  may  we  not  expect  of  it  in  the  future  ? 

I  will  add  a  brief  table,  giving  a  comparative  view  of  wool 
and  cotton,  showing  that  wool  has  declined  little  more  in  three- 
quarters  of  a  century,  than  the  great  staple  of  the  South  : 


Tear. 

Wool  Pi-ice  in  Boston. 

Cotton  P 

rice  in  Boston. 

1801—'  5... 

....$  .37  @  S    45.... 

....19 

@ 

23 

1806— '10... 

....  1.00  @    2.00.... 

....14 

(^ 

22 

1811— '15... 

•  •  •  .      ^.\)\J  ..•••.••••••• 

....10.6 

@ 

16.5 

1816— '20... 

No  record. 

....17.4 

(& 

33.8 

1831-';i5... 

....      60  

....11.8 

@ 

20.9 

1829— '30... 

....      38  @    70 

....10.4 

18.Si— '35... 

....      60  @    70 

....  17.45 

1840— '41... 

....      46  (^    52 

....  9.50 

1845- '46... 

....      36  @    45 

....  7.87 

laoO     '51... 

....      41  @    47 

....12.14 

1855    '56... 

....      40  @    60 

....10.:.0 

1860— '61... 

....      45  @    60 

....13.01 

1865-'G6... 

....      70  @  1.02 

....43.20 

1870— '71... 

....      47  (^    48 

....16.95 

1875-'76. . . 

....      48  @    £5 

1885 

....      33  y    3li 

....iiVie 

CHAPTER    IV. 


BLOOD. 


Blood,  breeding,  and  feed,  are  the  three  great  factors  with 
which  the  wool-grower,  by  judicious  comb  nation,  can  work 
out  success.  Money  will  buy  blood,  but  breeding  and  feeding 
require  art,  or  at  least  skill.  The  superficial  thinker,  might 
therefore  conclude  at  once,  that  blood  is  of  less  importance  than 
either  of  the  other  elements.  This  view  is  erroneous.  Blood  is 
the  outcome  of  the  breedmg  and  feeding  of  a  hundred  years — 
in  the  Merino,  of  a  thousand,  or  for  aught  we  know,  of  two 
thousand  years.  Hence,  with  money  we  can  buy  the  labor  and 
skill  of  thirty  generations  of  men.  Certainly  it  would  not  be 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  neglect  to  do  so. 

In  a  race  of  high  antiquity,  whose  characteristics  have  long 
been  established,  blood  is  of  higher  proportionate  value  than  in 


44  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

a  breed  of  more  recent  origin.     In  the  latter,  blood  is  of  less 
value,  except  as  it  is  of  individual  excellence. 

Full-Blood  and  Thoroughbred. — In  popular  language  these 
terms  are  synonymous.  When  used  in  reference  to  horses,  there 
is  a  well-defined  difference  between  them,  which  it  would  argue 
ignorance  to  neglect.  Some  writers  seek  to  establish  a  differ- 
ence also,  when  they  are  used  in  relation  to  sheep  and  in  this 
way  :  A  full-blood  is  one  in  whose  veins  there  is  no  admixture 
or  stain  of  any  other  blood  but  the  Spanish,  while  a  thorough- 
bred, is  all  that  and  something  more.  A  sheep  may  be  a  full- 
blood  (pure-blood  would  be  a  better  tenn),  and  yet  be  so  de- 
ficient in  form  or  fleece,  as  to  be  unfit  for  a  breeder.  But  a 
thoroughbred,  is  the  outcome  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors,  which, 
beginning  with  pure  blood,  have  been  so  consummately  molded 
by  man  to  a  special  purpose,  that  this  last  and  finished  product 
is,  so  to  speak,  incapable  of  begetting  or  bearing  a  progeny 
different  from  itself.  While  these  ought  to  be,  and  with  ac- 
curate men  are  the  definitions  of  the  two  terms,  in  popular 
usage  they  are  not. 

All  hons,  all  tigers,  all  animals  in  a  state  of  nature  are  full- 
bloods,  pure-bloods,  average  types  of  their  respective  races ;  but 
not  all  of  them  are  thoroughbreds  ;  that  is,  not  all  of  tbem  are 
so  even  in  all  their  qualities,  and  so  sound  in  their  constitutions, 
as  to  be  able  to  produce  progeny  up  to  the  level  of  the  race- 
standard.  They  are  weeded  out  by  natural  selection  ;  they  are 
ill-formed,  or  weak,  or  lacking  in  cunning,  and  they  perish  in 
the  struggle  of  life,  leaving  the  best  individuals  behind  to  per- 
petuate the  race.  Under  a  state  of  domestication  in  which 
man  seeks  to  preserve  all  the  individuals,  good  and  poor,  he 
must  himself  conduct  this  selection  of  his  breeders. 

Pedigree  may  have  a  very  high  value,  or  it  may  have  none  at 
ail.  If  a  sheep  with  an  unbroken  ancestry  of  a  thousand  years, 
or  two  thousand  years,  has  a  very  poor  constitution,  or  a  bald 
head,  it  is  more  likely  to  impart  those  faults  to  its  offspring, 
than  if  it  belonged  to  a  breed  of  more  recent  origin.  It  may, 
for  this  reason,  be  even  less  valuable  in  every  respect,  than  a 
high-grade.  Every  official  Register  is  seriously  at  fault  which 
does  not  require  individual  merit,  a  "  scale  of  points,"  as  well  as 
unquestioned  purity  of  blood,  as  qualifications  for  registiy. 

Pedigree,  is  like  a  long  train  of  cars  ;  it  runs  with  strong 
momentum,  and  it  runs  straight.  An  animal  without  pedigree, 
originating  yesterday,  is  like  a  single  car  ;  it  rocks  to  and  fro,  it 
is  hable  to  swing  off  the  track. 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTO]Sr.  45 

Breeders  like  to  claim  for  their  favorite  stock,  something  akin 
to  the  Papal  infallibility  ;  they  say,  in  effect :  Given  a  thousand 
years'  pedigree  in  your  breeding  flock,  and  you  can  not  get  an 
inferior  animal.  But  this  logic  can  not  stand.  Twin  rams,  twin 
bulls,  own  brothers  in  a  family,  disprove  it  every  day. 

Yet  I  would  not  be  thought  to  detract  anything  from  the 
transcendent  value  of  pure  blood.  Often  a  grade  of  three- 
fourths  or  seven-eighths  blood,  sired  by  a  strong-blooded  ram, 
will  to  all  appearance  possess  all  the  desirable  qualities  of  a 
thorouii;hbred,  and  reproduce  himself  in  his  progeny  ;  but  the 
next  generation,  or  the  next,  or  at  the  first  ill  usage,  his  de- 
scendants will  "  breed  back  "  to  his  low  original.  The  thorough- 
bred Merino  produces  a  fleece  of  very  nearly  the  same  length 
all  over  tlie  body,  while  a  grade  only  approximates  this,  and 
that,  when  young  and  full-fed.  The  thoroughbred  fleece  is 
almost  uniform  in  strength  and  fineness  all  over  the  body,  so 
that  a  great  part  of  it  can  enter  into  the  fabric  of  the  same 
garment. 

In  1882,  Dr.  A.  H.  Cutting,  of  the  Vermont  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture, made  a  microscopic  examination  of  the  number  of  fibers  of 
wool  on  a  square  inch  of  the  undried  pelt  of  a  sterile  full-blood 
ram,  slaughtered  for  the  purpose.  He  reported  officially  as  fol- 
lows :  "The  mean  result  of  all  my  experiments  is,  that  there 
are  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand,  four  hundred  and 
eighty  pores  to  the  square  inch,  from  which  wool  may  grow, 
but  they  do  not  all  contain  a  wool  fiber,  as  the  fibers  per  square 
inch  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  and  three  hun- 
dred. Of  course,  either  of  these  is  liable  to  a  small  error,  but  I 
compared  this  with  the  ordinaiy  open-wool  sheep,  and  find  that 
there  are  about  thirty  on  this  pelt,  to  one  on  the  common  sheep ; 
and  yet  I  examined  what  would  be  called  a  good-wooled  sheep." 

Such  facts  as  are  above  recited,  explain  and  make  reasonable 
the  enormous  price  paid  for  very  choice  thoroughbred  rams  and 
ewes.  They  are  based  on  great  individual  prepotency,  coupled 
to  a  long  pedigree.  No  ram,  however  faultless  in  form  and 
fleece,  and  illustrious  in  descent,  could  justly  be  valued  at  one 
thousand  or  two  thousand  dollars,  until  he  had  given  proof  of 
his  own  powers  of  transmission  by  actual  service  as  a  stock- 
getter. 

The  Ra.m  is  More  Than  Half  the  Flock. — It  is  customary 
to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  a  careful  selection  and  purchase 
of  rams,  bv  the  statement  that  the  ram  is  half  the  brecdiag-fiock. 
He  is  more  than  half,  as  may  be  shown. 


46  THE   AMERICAN"   MERIXO 

It  is  a  great  general  law  of  biology,  that  animals  in  a  state  of 
domestication,  and  more  especially  when  ill-fed  and  cared  for, 
have  a  constant  tendency  to  revert  to  their  original  condition. 
The  frequent  reappearance  of  "jar"  is  one,  among  several 
proofs  of  this.  Under  this  tendency,  we  can  breed  down  from  a 
thoroughbred  to  a  "  scrub,"  sooner  than  we  can  the  reverse.  A 
diagram  will  illustrate. 

Thoroughbred  )         Half-blood  ) 

Scrub.        )  Scrub.      )  Scrub. 

That  is,  as  the  result  of  the  second  cross,  we  have,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  a  scrub,  where  by  the 
rules  of  arithmetic,  we  should  have  a  quarter-blood.  Hence, 
either  the  ram  or  the  ewe.  or  both,  must  constantly  be  so  selected 
as  to  breed  up,  else  the  progeny  will  steadily  go  down.  Two 
and  two  do  not  make  four — in  breeding.  Either  the  ram  or  the 
ewe  must  represent  three,  if  we  wish  to  secure  a  steady  uniform 
result  of  four.  It  is  more  convenient,  and  generally  less  ex- 
pensive, to  get  a  ram  of  very  high  standard  than  it  is  to  get  a 
flock  of  ewes  of  the  same  standard. 

Many  farmers  have  an  unjust  prejudice  against  thoroughbred 
Merinos.  The  scarcity,  and  consequent  high  price  of  these 
animals,  for  many  years,  led  to  the  perpetration  of  gross  frauds. 
In  many  cases,  sheep  of  low  degree,  by  unscrupulous  pampering 
and  artificial  preparation,  were  so  embellished,  as  to  be  palmed 
off  upon  the  unsuspecting  wool-grower,  as  full-bloods.  When 
they,  or  their  progeny,  were  compelled  to  "rough  it"  a  little 
(for  the  average  wool-grower  of  the  United  States  is  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  house  and  blanket  his  sheep  all  summer),  they  speedily 
collapsed,  and  revealed  the  cheat. 

The  full-blood  Spanish  Merino  was  exposed  freely  on  its  na- 
tive mountains  for  a  thousand  years.  The  thoroughbred  Amer- 
can  Merino  would  do  well  on  the  deserts  of  the  Far  West,  if  only 
a  plain,  hardy  type  was  selected,  and  judiciously  acclimated.  I 
formerly  shared  the  general  belief  as  to  the  constitutional 
delicacy  of  the  thorou'rhbred ;  but  experience  has  taught  rao 
that,  if  equally  well-fed  with  the  grade,  it  is  equally  tolerant  of 
the  severest  weather. 

The  Texas  or  California  flock-master,  generally  holds  that  he 
must  stop  with  a  three-fourths  or  seven-eighths  Merino,  for  the 
hard  life  of  the  plains.  Let  him  fight  clear  of  wrinkles,  and  he 
will  be  perfectly  safe  with  a  pure-blood. 


FOR   WOOL    AXD    MUTTOi^.  47 

CHAPTER    V. 
BREEDING. 

At  What  Age  to  Breed  Ewes.— There  has  been  much 
heated  controversy  on  this  point  -between  those  who  believe 
that  a  ewe  should  bear  her  first  lamb  at  the  age  of  two  years, 
and  those  who  advocate  three  years  as  the  proper  time  ;  since 
no  breeder  of  Merinos  would  bring  a  ewe  into  service  at  the 
immature  age  of  one  year. 

There  are  several  points  to  be  considered  :  — 

First :  It  was  shown  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  it  is  of  im- 
portance to  the  wool-grower,  to  have  the  largest  practicable  pro- 
portion of  young  sheep  in  his  flock,  because  of  their  greater 
profitableness.  For  this  reason,  it  is  desirable  to  bring  into  ser- 
vice all  the  ewes  suited  for  it,  as  young  as  possible,  thereby  to 
enlarge  the  crop  of  lambs,  and  enable  the  owner  to  constantly 
weed  out  all  the  sheep  that  have  passed  the  meridian  of  profit. 

Second :  One  of  the  greatest  defects  of  the  Merino  ewe  is  her 
lack  of  fertility  and  prolificacy.  It  is  a  constitutional  defect,  to 
begin  with,  and  it  is  augmented  by  very  high  and  artificial 
keeping.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  ewe  which  passes  her  heat 
a  considerable  number  of  times  without  conceiving,  is  rendered 
thereby  more  uncertain  as  a  breeder ;  she  is  less  likely  to  be- 
come impregnated  when  at  length  brought  to  the  ram.  Now, 
a  healthy,  thriving  ewe,  will  frequently  come  in  heat  before  she 
is  a  year  old  ;  indeed,  this  event  sometimes  occurs  at  the  age  of 
six  months.  If,  then,  a  ewe  goes  a  whole  year  after  her  heats 
have  begun,  without  conceiving,  she  is  more  likely  to  ''miss" 
at  coupling,  than  one  which  is  brought  to  the  ram  younger. 

Third:  The  ewe's  fleece  is  affected  unfavorably,  both  in 
bulk  and  in  strength  of  fiber,  by  lamb-bearing ;  but  this  de- 
terioration occurs  equally,  whether  she  bears  her  first  lamb  at 
two,  or  at  three  years  of  age.  At  any  rate,  the  loss  is  greater  in 
yolk  than  in  wool. 

Fourth :  The  fact  is  unquestionable,  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  lambs  bom  from  two-year-old  ewes  are  smaller,  weaker  and 
harder  to  winter,  than  those  born  from  ewes  three-year-old. 
This  is  my  own  experience,  and  I  think  it  will  be  corroborated 
by  every  observing  flock-master. 

Fifth :  The  fact  that  wild  animals  begin  to  reproduce  their 


48  THE   AMERICA]Sr   MERINO 

kind  before  they  are  mature,  and  yet  the  race  does  not  degener- 
ate, is  no  criterion  for  the  conduct  of  sheep  husbandry  ;  for  the 
weaker  animals  in  a  state  of  nature,  are  relentlessly  weeded  out 
by  natural  selection,  by  the  struggle  for  life,  and  the  superior 
ones  are  left  to  perpetuate  the  race. 

Sixth:  A  ewe  bearing  her  first  lamb  at  two  years  old,  will 
subsequently  generally  become  a  bettor  milker  and  nurse,  than 
she  would  be  if  she  had  been  withheld  from  service  a  year 
longer. 

From  all  these  facts,  the  following  rules  may  fairly  be  de- 
duced :  In  the  case  of  a  large  flock,  especially  if  the  supply  of 
feed  is  somewhat  scanty,  the  traveling  required  to  collect  it  is 
considerable,  and  the  development  of  the  sheep  tardy,  it  would 
probably  not  be  advisable  to  breed  from  two-year-olds,  unless  it 
might  be  from  a  very  few  exceptional  animals,  attaining  at  two 
years  the  size  and  maturity  commonly  reached  only  at  three. 
But  in  a  small  and  well-kept  flock,  it  would  generally  be  good 
policy  to  breed  a  majority  of  the  ewes  at  two  years  old  (leaving  a 
few  of  slower  growth,  a  year  longer),  since,  in  this  case,  they 
would  probably  be  as  large  and  strong  as  the  three-year-olds  in  a 
great  flock.  Still,  the  two-year-old  ewes  ought  either  to  receive 
richer  and  more  succulent  feed  than  the  older  ones,  or  their 
coupling  ought  to  be  so  timed  as  to  bring  their  lambing  season 
on  grass. 

Constitution. — At  the  best,  the  sheep  is  a  weak  and  frail 
animal.  As  the  French  shepherds  graphically  say  :  "  the  wool 
eats  it."  When  we  consider  the  enormous  product  of  fleece  (in 
the  best  shearers  running  up  to  the  wonderful  figure  of  thirty- 
six  per  cent,  of  the  live  weight !),  what  wonder  is  it  that  such  a 
draft  on  its  system,  weakens  it?  It  is  stated  by  Chauveau  that 
the  weight  of  the  secretions  and  exhalations  from  the  yolk- 
glands  and  sweat-glands,  in  the  skin  of  a  healthy  sheep,  exceeds 
all  the  evacuations  from  bladder  and  bowels  together  I  Not  even 
the  hog,  with  his  tw^o  hundred  per  cent,  increase  in  fat,  is  so 
heavily  taxed  every  day,  as  the  well-fleeced  sheep  of  tlie  Merino 
breed.  It  is  all  the  while  literally  sweating  itself  to  death.  It 
may  almost  be  said  of  the  Merino,  as  of  the  silk-worm,  that  the 
web  it  spins  is  its  death. 

How  important,  then,  to  choose  for  breeders  only  those  sheep 
that  have  robust  constitutions.  Without  constitution,  the  finest- 
fleeced  sheep  ever  bred,  is  of  no  value  as  a  lamb-getter,  or  lamb- 
bearer. 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOi^.  49 

Choose  a  Sheep  With  the  Fewest  Defects. — The  art  of 
selecting  a  sheep  for  a  breeder  is  vouchsafed  to  very  few  men. 
As  Darwin  remarks  :  "  not  one  man  in  a  thousand,  has  accuracy 
of  eye  and  judgment  sufScient  to  become  an  eminent  breeder." 
The  vast  majority  of  wool-growers,  lacking  the  special  gifts  of 
Bakewell  or  Hammond,  must  be  content  to  be  able  to  choose 
fairly  good,  money-making  animals.  The  great  Vermont 
specialist  might  not  find  more  than  one  ram  in  his  State  that 
would  suit  him  ;  another  man  (and  perhaps  too,  a  man  capable 
of  making  more  money),  would  find  a  thousand. 

The  average  wool-grower  can  not  expect  to  ride  a  hobby,  to 
**  breed  to  points,"  as  does  the  keeper  of  the  stud-flock,  the  man 
with  special  gifts  for  the  occupation.  His  great  safety  lies  in 
selecting  the  animals  that  have  the  fewest  defects,  that  are  well 
and  symmetrically  developed.  In  a  "  Lecture  on  Breeding  Me- 
rino Sheep,"  kindly  sent  me  by  the  author,  Henry  Lane,  Esq., 
of  Cornwall,  Vt.,  I  find  the  following  : 

"The  twin,  three-year-old  rams,  exhibited  and  shorn  by  B.  B. 
Tottingham  &  Son,  Shoreham,  at  the  public  sheep  shearing  at 
Middlebury  last  spring,  were  in  size  and  general  appear- 
ance as  near  alike  as  twins  generally  are.  The  fiber  of  wool  on 
one  was  four  and  one-half  inches  in  length,  on  the  other,  three 
and  three-fourths  inches,  a  difference  of  three-fourths  of  an  inch. 
The  longest  staple  ram  weighed,  after  shearing,  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  pounds,  the  shortest  staple  ram,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  pounds,  a  difference  of  twenty-one  ix)unds.  The 
longest  staple,  sheared  twenty-three  pounds  and  twelve  ounces, 
the  shortest  staple,  thirty-three  pounds  and  ten  ounces,  a  differ- 
ence of  ten  pounds,  less  two  ounces.  This  extra  ten  pounds 
came  mostly  from  a  much  denser  fleece.  Now,  you  might  pos- 
sibly find  one  breeder  in  twenty,  whose  hobby  was  long  staple, 
that  would  select  the  longest  fleeced  ram,  but  the  other  nineteen 
would  select  the  one  having  so  many  good  points,  to  be  found  in 
the  shortest  staple  ram,  and  that  were  lacking  in  the  other." 

"Fancy."— "Breeders'  fancy"  is  not  wholly  to  be  ignored. 
Wool  on  the  leg  is  of  no  value,  any  more  than  cows'  hair;  but  it  is 
a  point  of  breeders'  fancy — and  it  is  something  more.  It  is  a 
mark  of  blood,  and  therefore  it  is  of  high  value.  The  wool  on 
the  upper  eyelid  (or,  rather,  on  a  fold  of  akin  which  doubles  down 
over  the  eyelid,  which  fold  is  lacking  in  a  plain  sheep),  is  not  only 
of  no  value,  but  it  is  a  positive  defect  ;  but  it  is  "fancy,"  it 
denotes  blood,   and  therefore  it  is  highly  esteemed.    The  soft, 


50  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

silky  face,  without  spot  or  blemish  (the  smallest  black  spot  on  the 
lip,  face  or  ear,  being  objectionable),  covered  with  wool  to  just 
such  a  point,  making  a  cap  rounding  down  with  just  such  a 
a  curve ;  the  ears  woolled  out  just  so  far,  with  white,  silky- 
hair  the  rest  of  the  length  (for  a  woolly  ear  is  a  bad  mark) ;  the 
precise  number  of  wrinkles  across  the  nose— all  these  are  fancy 
points,  oftimes  sought  after,  to  the  neglect  of  substantial  merit ; 
but  they  are,  nevertheless,  matters  of  importance,  because  they 
are  typical.  They  ought  to  he  there.  They  show  blood,  culture, 
a  "long  descent ; "  they  are  like  the  almost  invisible  water-marks 
which  the  Government  incorporates  in  the  paper  upon  which 
bank-bills  are  printed,  to  prevent  counterfeiting. 

Influence  of  the  Sex. — The  question  whether  the  ram  or 
the  ewe  exercises  the  greater  influence  over  the  progeny,  also 
whether  one  determines  a  different  set  of  qualities  from  the 
other,  is  not  of  the  slightest  practical  consequence  to  any  wool- 
grower,  except  as  considered  under  the  following  heading. 

Pbepotency. — An  animal  of  great  force  will  impress  itself  on 
the  offspring  more  strongly  than  one  which  is  weaker.  This 
power  in  an  animal,  whether  male  or  female — for  either  may 
possess  it — by  which  it  marks  its  progeny  conspicuously  in  its 
own  likeness,  is  called  prepotency.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  a 
fault,  as,  for  instance,  a  deficient  cap,  or  bare  legs,  will  reappear  in 
the  lambs  more  persistently  than  a  merit.  It  is  customary  to  say 
that  the  ram  is  more  prepotent  than  the  ewe,  but  there  are  many 
exceptions  to  this  rule.  The  ram's  traits  are  the  more  generally 
remarked  in  a  year's  get  of  lambs,  because  he  is  one  out  of  a  hun- 
dred, chosen  with  the  greatest  care ;  but  if  a  hundred  lambs, 
equally  divided  as  to  sex,  were  suffered  to  grow  to  maturity  and 
then  used  as  breeders,  it  would  be  found  that  there  were,  out  of 
fifty,  as  many  prepotent  ewes  as  rams. 

But  the  important  point  is  this  :  The  ram  costs  lees  money 
than  the  flock  of  ewes,  is  oftener  changed,  and  is  frequently  about 
the  only  item  of  expense  which  the  farmer  is  willing  to  incur  for 
the  purpose  of  bettering  his  stock.  More  than  that,  if  the  ram  is 
inferior,  his  faults  will  be  reproduced  many  times,  while  in  a 
ewe,  they  will  be  reproduced  only  once.  Therefore,  it  is  more 
important  to  make  a  careful  selection  of  a  ram  than  of  a  ewe,  un- 
less— which  ought  to  be  the  case — the  farmer  is  willing  to  ex- 
ercise the  same  diligence  in  selecting  all  the  breeding  stock. 

There  is  no  criterion  of  prepotency  except  use.  Pedigree  and 
constitution,  even  form,  may  be  present  without  prepotency;  but 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  51 

the  latter  can  hardly  exist  without  the  first  two,  though  it  may 
without  form,  since  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  thin-shouldered 
or  steep-rumped  or  flat-ribbed  ram  is  powerfully  prepotent.  Mr. 
George  B.  Quinn's  "  Red  Legs,"  was  an  instance.  The  only  safe 
rule,  therefore,  is  to  select  a  ram-lamb  combining  the  three  excel- 
lences, and  then  test  him.  A  good  way  would  be  to  buy  no  ram 
without  some  age,  and  a  history  behind  him  ;  but  to  do  this  might 
be  more  expensive  than  to  breed  and  test  a  number  of  ram-lambs 
for  one's-self . 

A  notable  instance  of  a  potent  ram  perpetuating  his  high  type 
and  line  of  excellence  for  generations,  is  seen  in  Hammond's 
"Old  Black,"  followed  by  '' Wooster,"  "Old  Greasy,"  "Old 
Wrinkly,"  "Little  Wrinkly,"  "Sweepstakes,"  "California," 
"Gold  Drop,"  "Green  Mountain."  Sanford's  "  Eureka"  and 
"Comet,"  and  R.  J.Jones'  "All  Right,"  have  each  produced  a 
valuable  line  of  prepotent  rams. 

Variation. — There  is  a  law  of  biology,  that  animals  under 
domestication  exhibit  more  variability,  a  greater  tendency  to 
"  sport,"  in  their  offspring,  than  those  in  a  state  of  nature.  In 
the  latter  condition,  they  are  subject  to  the  same  influences  of 
climate,  soil,  feed,  and  the  same  habits  of  life,  from  year  to  year, 
and  the  law,  "  Like  begets  like,"  goes  on  without  interruption. 
But  when  they  pass  under  the  dominion  of  mind,  of  intellect,  the 
caprice  of  man,  changes  of  ownership,  changes  of  habits,  of  feed, 
of  climate,  interfere  with  the  sway  of  heredity ;  and  even  the 
most  ancient  race  will  now  and  then  suddenly  throw  out  a  scion 
which  is  a  remarkable  departure  from  the  type. 

Thus  "  Sweepstakes,"  at  a  bound,  surpassed  his  sire  eight  and 
one-half  pounds  in  fleece,  and  ten  pounds  in  carcass,  and  sur- 
passed all  his  ancestors  at  least  five  pounds  in  fleece.  "All 
Right "  went  beyond  all  his  ancestors  ten  pounds  in  fleece,  and 
at  least  twenty-five  pounds  in  carcass — a  remarkable  variation. 

Now,  when  such  a  variation  in  a  desirable  direction  occurs,  it 
ought  to  be  carefully  examined  before  we  attach  too  much  value 
to  it.  Does  the  great  gain  in  fleece  consist  in  yolk  or  in  wool  ? 
If  it  is  principally  in  yolk,  the  variation  may  possess  little  or  no 
value.  If  it  is  a  gain  in  pure  wool,  the  animal  is  a  great  ac- 
quisition. Variations  in  a  useful  direction  ought  to  be  carefully 
followed  up,  for  thereby  comes  improvement.  Still,  it  is  not 
well  to  exi)ect  too  much,  for  an  animal  departing  so  far  from 
the  standard  may  not  be  able  to  carry  his  stock  with  him  to  his 
high  pitch  of  excellence.    He  may  be  what  the  breeders  term 


52  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

an  accidental  sheef).  The  keeper  of  the  stud-flock  would  by  all 
means  retain  this  accidental  sheep,  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
produce  something  equal  to  himself,  and  thus  take  one  step  to- 
ward making  this  variation  permanent.  But  the  ordinary  wool- 
grower  might  make  a  mistake,  if  he  bought  him  at  a  price 
greatly  above  the  average.  It  is  quite  possible  that  one  hundred 
lambs  gotten  by  a  ram  shearing  thirty  pounds  (analogous  in- 
stances have  not  seldom  occured),  miglit  not  shear  as  high  an 
average  as  one  hundred  lambs  from  a  ram  yielding  twenty 
pounds. 

It  is  the  mission  of  the  stud-keeper  to  experiment  with  these 
exceptional  sheep ;  he  may  develop  thereby  a  great  public 
benefit.  We  look  to  him  to  hold  up  the  Merino  standard,  and 
to  advance  it  constantly  higher  and  higher.  But  to  the  average 
flock-master,  I  would  repeat  and  emphasize  the  advice,  before 
given,  never  to  place  his  main  dependence  on  a  ram  which  has 
not  been  tested. 

Crossing  and  Cross-breeding.— Prof.  W,  H.  Brewer  has  so 
correctly  given  the  general  results  which  come  from  crossing, 
that  I  append  two  paragraphs  from  his  writings  :  "I  know  of 
no  case  where  a  new  breed  has  been  made  of  two  well-defined 
breeds,  the  new  breed  having  the  excellences  of  the  others,  or 
even  the  excellences  of  the  first  cross.  It  is  a  common  ex- 
perience, not  only  as  you  have  shown  with  sheep,  but  with  cat- 
tle, with  horses,  with  everything  so  far  as  I  know,  that  while 
the  first  or  earlier  crosses  are  reasonably  uniform,  successive 
crosses  vary  greatly.  Numerous  new  breeds  have  been  formed 
by  the  crossing  of  several  older  ones.  Noel's  experiments  on 
the  old  French  breeds  of  coarse-wooled  sheep  are  interesting. 
The  formation  of  the  English  thoroughbred  horse  from  three 
or  possibly  more  distinct  branches  of  the  Oriental  horse  ;  that 
is,  the  Arabian,  the  Turk,  and  the  Barb.  The  Poland  China 
Bwine,  so  called,  from  several  earlier  and  perhaps  ill-defined 
breeds,  and  so  on.  Numerous  examples  can  be  given  of  new 
breeds  being  formed  from  the  crosses  of  several,  and  then  by 
long-continued  selection  of  animals  having  the  desired  qualities, 
from  three  several  breeds ;  but  I  know  of  no  example  where 
this  has  been  done  with  only  two  breeds  in  the  original  stock. 

"Again,  it  is  a  common  experience,  particularly  in  breeding 
for  flesh  (but  it  is  true  of  all  characters),  that  in  cross-bred  ani- 
mals for  one  or  two  generations,  the  cross  breeds  may  be  better 
.as  animals  of  use  than  either  of  the  present  stocks.    But  uhis 


FOR   WOOL  AifD   MUTTON".  53 

excellence  cannot  be  maintained  with  sufficient  uniformity  to 
insure  profit.  In  truth,  the  whole  and  sole  reason  of  the  enor- 
mous prices  which  thoroughbred  animals  of  various  kinds  bring 
of  a  long-proved  pedigree,  is  not  because  of  the  superior  excel- 
lence of  those  animals  themselves  as  animals  of  use,  but  simply 
because  their  characters  are  transmitted^  and  that  of  equally 
good  mongrels  are  not.  The  crossing  of  different  breeds  of 
pheep  for  mutton  or  for  particular  grades  of  wool,  will  long  be 
continued,  and  is  very  profitable  in  many  directions  ;  but  it  is 
only  profitable,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  hear,  where  these 
rules  are  obeyed,  and  we  frequently  go  back  to  the  pure  breed 
on  one  side  or  on  the  other,  or  on  both,  for  keeping  up  the 
excellence." 

The  celebrated  Improved  Kentucky  breed  was  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  native  sheep  with  the  Merino,  the  Leicester,  the 
Southdown,  the  Cots  wold  and  the  Oxford-down.  This  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  established  and  permanent  breeds  of  the 
United  States,  capable  of  propagating  itself  with  the  certainty 
of  the  average  thoroughbred. 

The  even  more  celebrated  Cross-bred  sheep  of  New  Zealand, 
are  the  result  of  a  combination  of  the  Merino,  the  Leicester,  the 
Lincoln  and  the  Cotswold.  A  recent  writer  in  Agriculture,  a 
London  newspaper,  after  describing  the  breed,  adds  : 

'•What  to  the  practical  breeder  is  still  more  interesting,  is  the 
fact  that  efforts  have  been  so  far  successful  as  to  establish 
large  flocks  in  which  uniformity  is  as  prominent  a  character- 
istic as  in  the  average  of  either  of  the  breeds  from  which  they 
spring.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  (December  and  Januarj^)  these 
had  all  been  sheared,  so  that  I  was  unable  to  see  the  fleeces  out- 
side of  the  storage  lofts,  but  from  these  I  was  enabled  to  pro- 
cure samples  seven  inches  m  length  and  exceeding  in  fineness 
anything  I  had  deemed  possible  from  such  a  cross,  while  much 
of  the  lustre  so  esteemed  in  combing  wools  was  preserved. 
This  cross-bred  sheep  is  now  so  '  fixed '  in  type  that  breeding 
animals  are  bought  and  sold  with  the  same  faith  that  they  will 
reproduce  with  the  uniformity  attaching  to  the  recognized 
breeds." 

Crosses  between  the  various  branches  of  the  Merino  race 
have  been,  in  many  cases,  eminently  successful.  In  fact,  the 
American  Merino  of  to-day,  in  its  incomparable  excellence,  is 
the  result  of  a  fusion  of  the  Paular  and  Infantado  flocks,  to- 
gether with  others,  which  have  become  so  blended  as  to  be 
practically  one  race.    The  ''Victor-Beall  Delaine,"  the  "Black- 


54  THE   AMERICAI^'   MERII^O 

top,"  and  the  "Improved  Saxony" — all  of  them  worthy  sub- 
families of  the  American,  whose  standing  and  excellence  are 
established  beyond  the  reach  of  cavil — are  the  result  of  crosses 
between  the  Spanish  and  Saxon.  In  the  Eastern  States,  the 
attempted  crosses  between  the  French  and  American  Merinos 
have  generally  resulted  disastrously  ;  but  in  Southern  California, 
it  has  been  and  still  is,  widely  popular.  The  French  gives  a 
rangy  carcass,  and  long,  but  rather  coarse  fiber,  while  the 
American  braces  up  thiu  somewhat  shambling  anatomy,  with  a 
heavy  bone,  gives  density  and  fineness  to  the  staple,  and  a 
hardy,  self-supporting  habit,  enabling  the  sheep,  as  the  Western 
men  say,  to  "rustle "  successfully  for  its  living.  In  Oregon  and 
California  the  American  and  Australian  have  been  bred  together 
with  highly  satisfactory  results.  In  the  American  Sheep 
Breeder,  Hon.  John  Minto  thus  speaks  of  this  cross : 

*'  There  was  but  little  difference  in  the  size  of  the  two  strains, 
and  I  think  there  would  have  been  no  perceptible  difference  in 
the  yield  of  scoured  wool  of  first  quaUty  in  proportion  to  live 
weight.  The  Vermont  sheep  covered  the  shanks  and  head 
more  and  had  much  more  oil  in  the  fleece  of  a  coarser  quality. 
The  Australians  were  more  apt  to  give  twins,  and  the  lambs 
were  more  robust  when  dropped.  After  a  few  crosses  none  but 
the  most  expert  could  tell  it  was  cross-bred  sheep,  the  signs 
being  preserved  longest  in  the  superior  quality  of  the  wool.  One 
of  our  breeders  who  started  with  a  few  sheep  of  such  a  first  cross, 
bred  continuously  toward  the  Vermont  Spanish,  and  soon  had 
a  very  uniform  and  very  superior  flock  ;  but  classed  it  as  pure 
Spanish.  He  sent  a  card  of  beautiful  specimens  to  the  '  Cen- 
tennial,' 1876,  which  the  judges  said  was  '  of  very  superior 
quality,  much  resembling  Australian  wool.'  " 

As  to  crosses  between  the  Merino  and  the  English  breeds,  it 
ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  there  is  a  radical  difference  be- 
tween crossing  and  cross-breeding,  or  amalgamation  {metissage, 
as  the  French  call  it).  The  first  is  often  profitable  in  special 
cases  ;  the  second  is  found  nearly  always  to  be  a  mistake.  The 
mutton  breeds  are  not  adapted  to  the  free  and  wide  ranging  of 
the  West ;  they  travel  and  scatter  too  much,  and  an  admixture 
of  their  blood  with  the  Merino,  reduces  the  self-supporting 
power  of  the  latter.  Merinos  are  gregarious,  while  the  English 
sheep  desire  to  spread  out  widely.  Another  objection  is,  when 
this  process  of  amalgamation  is  continued  for  any  length  of 
time,  it  destroys  the  uniformity  of  the  fleece,  the  evenness  of 
grade  and  density,  which  it  is  one  of  the  foremost  objects  of  the 


FOR   WOOL   AN^D   MUTTON".  55 

intelligent  breeder  to  producco  Then,  too,  the  English  breeds 
cannot  withstand  the  summer  heat  and  the  winter  rains  so  well 
as  the  Merino  ;  their  fleeces  are  too  open. 

Where  there  is  special  demand  for  cross-bred  wool  or  mutton, 
the  unilateral  cross  (that  is,  with  a  pure-blooded  race  on  each 
side)  will  always  give  more  satisfactory  results  than  the  cross 
between  mongrels.  On  the  great  plains  of  the  West,  where  the 
grower  of  tlie  Merino  flocks  desires  to  meet  a  special  demand, 
and  where  the  soil  and  climate  are  suitable,  he  may  advantage- 
ously make  one  cross  of  pure  Cotswolds  or  Downs  on  his  Me- 
rinos (preferably  a  Merino  ram  with  Cotswold  ewes) ;  but  he 
should  be  careful  to  keep  a  reserve  of  pure  stock  constantly  on 
hand,  from  which  to  make  the  cross  afresh  each  year,  and  sell 
off  all  the  cross-bred  animals  as  fast  as  they  reach  maturity, 
without  breeding  from  them. 

The  testimony  of  the  most  eminent  wool-growers  of  the 
West,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  as  having  spoken  or 
written  on  the  subject,  Mr.  Benj.  Flint  and  Mr.  M.  D.  W.  Ap 
Jones,  of  Cahfornia  ;  Hon.  John  Miuto,  of  Oregon  ;  Mr.  F.  W. 
Schaeffer,  of  Texas,  and  Mr.  D.  H,  McKellar,  of  Australia,  is 
strongly  against  the  amalgamation  in  this  line.  But  in  Nebraska, 
Mumesota,  Dakota,  etc.,  on  account  of  their  nearness  to  the 
great  mutton  market  of  Chicago,  it  is  regarded  with  more  favor, 
that  is  the  unilateral  cross. 

The  cross  between  a  Merino  ram  and  a  Southdown  ewe,  or  vice 
versa  (though  the  latter  is  not  so  favorably  regarded  by  practi- 
cal men,  since  the  Southdown  ewe  is  a  better  milker  than  the 
Merino),  produces  the  best  mutton  known,  with  a  single  excep- 
tion perhaps,  of  the  little  Welsh  mountain  sheep.  It  is  conceded 
to  be  superior  to  the  pure  Southdown  mutton.  The  Merino, 
also,  crosses  kindly  with  the  Shropshire  and  the  other  middle- 
wools.  The  Merino-Cotswold,  if  bred  beyond  the  first  year,  is 
apt  to  have  an  uneven,  streaky  fleece  ;  neither  are  the  mutton 
qualities  so  good  as  those  of  the  Merino-Southdown.  A  Cotswold 
ram  bred  upon  a  Merino  ewe  produces  the  most  objectionable 
cross.  The  ewe  has  not  milk  enough  for  the  large  lamb,  even 
if  she  is  able  to  give  birth  to  it ;  and  it  grows  up  leggy,  light  in 
the  flank,  gaunt  and  bony. 

A  Merino  ewe  once  crossed  upon  a  British  ram  is  not  likely 
to  *'  breed  true  "  thereafter  from  a  ram  of  her  own  race  ;  her 
progeny  are  apt  to  be  marked  with  coarse-wool  traits. 

In-Breeding. — This,  too,  is  a  subject  which  concerns  the 
practical  flock-master  very  little,  especially  since  the  families 


56  THE   AMERICA:?^   MERINO 

and  strains  of  the  Merino  have  become  so  numerous,  and  afford 
such  a  wide  range  to  choose  from.  In-breeding  tends  to  refine 
the  bone,  impair  the  coxistitution,  and  induce  sterihty.  Even 
the  advocates  of  it  virtually  admit  this,  for  they  say  cautiously, 
that  breeding  "  too  close"  must  not  be  continued  too  long.  An 
eminent  breeder  once  said  :  '*  In-breeding  was  sure  to  produce 
an  uncommonly  good,  or  an  uncommonly  poor  animal. "  How- 
ever necessary  in-breeding  may  be  in  the  hands  of  a  great 
specialist,  to  establish  and  perpetuate  a  certain  desirable  trait, 
the  average  flock-master  had  better  avoid  it  altogether.  Still, 
there  is  very  little  doubt,  that  in-breeding  between  the  closest 
relatives,  which  are  widely  dissimilar  (as  a  very  yolky  and  a 
very  dry-topped  one),  might  be  less  injurious  to  the  progeny 
than  the  crossing  of  two  sheep  exactly  alike,  but  not  related. 
Hammond  recognized  and  acted  on  this  principle,  in  keeping 
separate  and  distinct  his  "  dark  or  Queen  line,"  and  his  "  light- 
colored  line,"  between  which  to  take  out  crosses.  In  the  old 
Saxon  flocks  of  southern  Ohio,  in-breeding  used  to  produce  the 
the  much-dreaded  ''kinky shoulder"  wool. 

Wrinkles. — No  candid  breeder  will  deny  that  wrinkles  are  a 
great  nuisance  to  the  shearer.  Why  else  do  the  fancy  breeders, 
the  stud-keepers  of  Ohio  and  Vermont,  have  to  pay  from 
twenty-five  cents  to  one  dollar  for  the  shearing  of  a  single  ram  ? 
1  have  known  a  good  average  shearer  to  6i)end  nearly  half  a 
day  in  getting  the  fleece  off  of  a  very  wrinkly  ram.  Of  course, 
this  is  an  entirely  exceptional  case  ;  I  cite  it  merely  to  show  how 
obstructive  wrinkles  are  to  the  shearer. 

But  there  is  another  respect  in  which  they  are  even  more 
mischievous  in  a  flock  which  is  not  housed.  The  wool  between 
the  wrinkles,  and  even  the  skin,  in  hot,  wet  weather,  becomes 
parboiled ;  a  quantity  of  rancid  yolk  accumulates  there,  and 
becomes  a  home  for  flies  and  maggots.  A  very  wrinkly  sheep 
is  not  fit  to  run  in  the  rain. 

A  high-bred  lamb,  when  born,  has  a  fine,  soft,  spider-web 
crinkle  in  the  skin,  running  all  over  the  body,  which  disappears 
in  full  fleece  ;  that  is,  it  creates  no  ripple  in  the  exterior  of  the 
fleece.  It  is  still  there,  however,  but  gradually  disappears  with 
advancing  years.  But  this  sort  of  wi'inkle,  so  far  from  being 
objectionable,  is  a  point  of  merit. 

A  very  wrinkly  sheep  is  generally  slower  of  development  and 
maturity  than  a  plain  one.  Thus,  in  a  party  of  seven  two-year- 
old  ewes,  Vermont-regiaterecl,  owned  by  Mr.  L.  W.  Skipton,  of 
Washington  County,  Ohio,  No.  159,  a  very  heavily  marked  but 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON". 


67 


58  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

undersized  ewe,  cut  twenty  pounds  and  two  ounces  ;  while  No. 
163,  a  plain  ewe,  but  at  least  ten  pounds  heavier  than  the  other, 
yielded  twenty  pounds  and  fourteen  ounces.  But  the  pro- 
prietor insisted  that  she  had  beaten  the  wrinkly  ewe  for  the 
last  time. 

A  very  wrinkly  sheep,  seldom,  if  ever,  yields  a  fiber  long 
enough  to  be  classed  as  delaine.  This  fact  is  illustrated  by  the 
high  percentage  of  delaine  wool  in  the  clips  of  Messrs.  R.  and 
A.  F.  Breckenridge,  of  Brown's  Mills,  Ohio,  who  breed  pure- 
blood  Merinos  notable  for  their  plainness.  On  the  other  hand, 
Mr.  C.  C.  Smith,  of  Waterford,  is  equally  well-known  for  the 
heavily  folded  type  of  his  pure-bloods  ;  but,  for  his  out-door 
wool-bearing  flocks,  he  uses  rams  of  medium  wrinkliness,  and 
he  shears  also  a  high  percentage  of  delaine  wool. 

This  fact,  however,  would  not  absolutely  turn  the  scale  in 
favor  of  a  plain  sheep  over  a  wrinkly  one,  for  delaine  wool 
commands  very  little,  if  any,  higher  price  than  a  clip  of  ordi- 
nary length,  other  quahties  being  equal,  unless  the  prevaiUng 
type  of  wool  throughout  a  large  section  of  country  is  delaine. 
If  there  is  a  delaine  "fashion,"  there  wUl  be  a  delaine  price, 
but  not  otherwise,  at  least  not  until  a  time  arrives  when  every 
clip  is  much  more  carefully  graded  and  individualized  than  it  is 
at  present. 

But  there  is  a  fact  which  works  powerfully  against  wrinkly 
Merinos  ;  and  that  is,  that  buyers  and  feeders  discriminate 
against  them,  on  account  of  the  "  sheepy  "  mutton  which  they 
yield.  I  am  credibly  informed  that  the  butchers  of  Baltimore 
stigmatize  them  as  "  leather  hides,"  and  that  prominent  dealers, 
like  S.  Frankenstein  and  W.  Finn,  of  that  city,  demand  a  con- 
cession of  one-half  to  one  cent  a  pound  on  very  wrinkly  sheep. 

In  sheep  highly  developed,  the  skin  accumulates  on  the  body 
to  such  a  degree  that  a  fold  sometimes  forms  over  the  eye,  and 
causes  the  eyelid  to  turn  under  and  irritate  the  ball.  This  has 
been  held  to  be  a  great  objection  to  wrinkly  sheep,  but  it  can 
be  remedied  by  a  simple  operation.  With  a  pair  of  sheep- 
shears  a  piece  of  skin  half  or  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long  and 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  wide  (or  narrower,  if  the  case  is  not  bad), 
is  snipped  out  of  the  eyelid,  lengthwise  of  the  eye,  and  just  far 
enough  back  from  the  eyelashes  not  to  interfere  with  their 
roots.  The  cut  being  shallow,  very  little,  if  any,  blood  will 
flow  from  it.  In  healing  the  skin  shrinks,  and  the  eyelid  is 
turned  right  side  out  again. 


rOR  WOOL  AN^D   MUTTOK". 


59 


CHAPTER    VI. 


FEED. 


Of  the  three  departments  of  sheep  husbandry,  the  most  im- 
portant is  feeding.  Blood  and  breeding  may  be  compared  to 
the  field  and  line  officers  of  the  army,  but  feed  is  the  common 
Boldier.  And,  as  in  all  well-regulated  armies  the  officers  come 
up  out  of  the  ranks  by  promotion,  so,  in  respect  to  sheep  ;  the 
blood  of  a  thousand  years,  the  longest  and  most  celebrated 
pedigree,  is  after  all,  nothing  but  the  outcome  of  good  feeding. 
For  under  the  term  "feed"  should  properly  be  included  care, 
management,  choice  of  soils,  etc. 

The  skillful  breeder  can  select  an  animal  with  consummate 
insight  into  its  good  points  (blood) ;  but  he  cannot  change  its 
former  fleece  one  iota  except  by  combination  with  another 
sheep  (breeding),  and  especially  by  care  and  management  (feed- 
ing). In  fact,  Nature  makes  all  the  changes  herself  ;  man  only 
supplies  the  conditions.  Good  feeding  simply  gives  Nature  or 
heredity  a  chance  to  do  her  best. 

The  coarse  grasses  and  the  roving,  careless,  "rustling"  life 
of  the  Far  West  develop  muscle,  but  weaken  the  fiber,  and 
heredity  tends  to  perpetuate  these  ;  but  the  rich  pastures,  the 
fragrant  hay-racks  and  the  faithful  daily  care  of  Ohio,  produce 
a  strong,  uniform  and  yet  fine  staple. 

A  Perfect  Feed. — Nature  has  given  us  the  formula  for  a 
perfect  feed  for  the  domestic  animals.  This  is  furnished  in 
grass  of  different  kinds,  as  seen  by  the  following  table,  which 
gives  the  constituents  of  the  principal  pasture  grasses  and 
clover  : 


100  parts. 

Water. 

Albumi- 
noids. 

Fat. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Woody 

fiber. 

Ash. 

Timothy 

57.21 
70.00 

58.85 
76.00 

4.86 
4.06 
4.59 
2.00 

1.50 
.94 
.94 

22.85 

13.30 

20.05 

7.00 

11.32 

10.11 
13.03 
13.9 

226 

Orchard -grass 

Barley-grass 

Red  clover 

1.59 
2.54 
1.00 

The  red  clover  and  the  orchard  grass  are  rather  watery,  as 
every  farmer  knows  ;  the  best  formula  perhaps  is  that  of  the 
timothy.  Counting  the  albuminoids  as  flesh-formers,  and  the 
carbo-hydrates  (sugar,  gum,  starch)  as  fat-formers,  and  includ- 
ing with  the  latter  half  the  woody  fiber  and  all  the  fat  (one 


60 


THE   AMERICA^f   MERINO 


pound  of  which  is  equivalent  to  2.44  of  starch  or  sugar),  we 
have  a  total  of  4.86  flesh- formers  and  31.88  fat-formers.  This 
gives  an  albuminoid  or  flesh-forming  ratio  of  about  1:6.5. 

Now,  if  the  ingenuity  of  man  could  devise  a  feed  as  good  as 
grass,  it  would  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  dried  grass  or 
hay  is  not  such  a  feed  ;  because,  although  -we  have  abstracted 
from  it  nothing  but  the  water,  its  magical  quaUty  is  gone  ;  it 
no  longer  possesses  either  the  same  nourishing  or  the  same 
fattening  properties. 

Most  of  the  nitrogen  of  feed  is  in  the  albuminoids,  and  both 
science  and  experience  have  taught  that  animals  must  have  a 
certain  ratio  of  nitrogenous  matter  to  do  well.  But  these  nitro- 
genous matters  are  the  most  expensive  element  of  feed  (in  most 
cases,  though  the  commercial  value  is  not  always  correctly  ad- 
justed) ;  hence  it  behooves  the  farmer  to  know  about  what  pro- 
portions of  grain  and  hay  it  is  most  profitable  to  give  to  his 
sheep.  If  either  the  flesh-formers  or  the  fat-formers  are  in  ex- 
cess of  the  formula  above  indicated  by  gi*ass,  the  excess  is 
practically  wasted.  It  requires  fixed  amounts  of  oil  and  lye  to 
make  soap — to  use  a  homely  comparison — so  it  takes  approxi- 
mately measured  proportions  of  the  above  named  elements  to 
feed  stock  advantageously. 

The  Basis  of  Feed. — First,  let  us  consider  the  basis  or 
groundwork  of  feed,  which,  of  course,  is  always  some  one  or 
more  of  the  varieties  of  hay,  straw,  etc. : 


Total  or- 

Flesh 

Fat 

Crude 

In  100  j^art'S. 

Water. 

Ash. 

f/a?iic 
matter. 

formers. 

formers. 

fiber. 

Meadow  hay 

14.3 

6.2 

79.5 

8.2 

41.3 

30.0 

Red  clover  hay. . . . 

16.7 

6.2 

77.1 

13.4 

29.9 

35.8 

Pea  straw 

14.3 

4.0 

81.7 

6.5 

35.2 

40.0 

Bean  slraw 

17.3 

5.0 

77.7 

10.2 

33.5 

34.0 

"Wheat  straw 

14.3 

5.5 

80.0 

2.0 

30.2 

48.0 

Rye  straw 

14.2 

3.2 

82.5 

1.5 

27.0 

54.0 

Barley  straw 

14.3 

7.0 

78.7 

3.0 

32.7 

43. 

Oat  straw 

14.3 
14.0 

5.0 
4.0 

80.7 
82.0 

2.5 
3.0 

38.2 
39.0 

40.0 

Corn  fodder 

40.0 

Taking  meadow  hay  first,  we  find  that  it  has  8.2  of  flesh- 
formers  to  63.8  fat-formers,  or  an  albuminoid  ratio  of  1:8,  which 
falls  little  below  the  con-ect  formula.  And  we  know  from  ex- 
perience that  thoroughly  good  meadow  hay  will  of  itself  many 
times  support  sheep  in  fair  condition.  But,  taking  wheat  straw, 
we  find  it  has  an  albuminoid  ratio  of  about  1 :29,  which  makes 
it  a  very  poor  article  of  feed. 


FOU   WOOL   AlfD   MUTTON^.  61 

Grain  Feeds. — To  supplement  .this,  we  must  have  recourse 
to  something  richer  in  albuminoids.  By  far  the  most  common 
grain-feed  throughout  the  United  States  is  Indian  com.  But 
com  itself  is  not  rich  enough  to  make  good  the  deficiencies  of 
wheat  straw.  The  composition  of  one  hundred  parts  of  com  is 
as  follows  :  Flesh-formers,  10.0;  total  fat-formers  (counting  one 
part  fat  or  oil  equal  to  2.44  of  starch,  sugar  or  gum),  75.8 ; 
woody  fiber,  5.5  ;  ash  or  mineral  matters,  2.1  ;  water,  14.4.  In 
digestion  the  starch,  sugar  and  gum  are  converted  into  fat  or  oil, 
and  this,  together  with  the  vegetable  oil  existing  in  the  feed, 
go  to  support  respiration  in  the  animal,  and  to  the  formation  of 
fat.  As  to  the  woody  fiber,  it  is  known  that  a  very  consider- 
able part  of  it  is  digested  by  an  animal  which  performs  masti- 
cation thoroughly,  and  has  a  vigorous  stomach.  The  sheep  will 
digest  half  or  two-thirds  of  it. 

What,  then,  do  we  find  as  the  albuminoid  ratio  of  corn? 
Flesh-formers,  10.0.  Total  fat- formers  (sugar,  starch,  gum, 
oil=75.8  ;  woody  fiber,  say  3.0  ;  ash,  1.0),  79.8.  This  gives  corn, 
therefore,  an  albuminoid  ratio  of  1:8,  about.  Now,  let  us  add 
the  wheat  straw  and  corn  together.  We  will  suppose  that  one 
hundred  pounds  of  com  are  given  to  the  sheep  along  with  four 
hundred  pounds  of  straw.  Adding  together  the  two  terms 
of  the  proportion,  we  find  the  albuminoid  ratio  of  the  corn  and 
straw  together,  to  be  1:18.5.  Manifestly  this  is  too  poor.  The 
sheep  must  consume  too  large  an  amount  of  straw  to  obtain  the 
necessary  percentage  of  albuminoids,  the  excess  of  flesh-formers 
and  woody  fiber  going  to  waste,  that  is,  passing  undigested. 

The  farmer  in  practice  can  partially  remedy  this  by  giving  more 
corn  and  less  straw,  but  he  can  do  still  better  by  using  another 
kind  of  feed,  for  instance,  Cotton-seed  meal.  The  composition 
of  one  hundred  parts  of  this  is  as  follows  :  Water,  8.3  ;  flesh- 
formers,  41.0;  fat-formers,  33.4;  woody  fiber,  9.0  ;  ash,  8.3.  Of 
the  fat  formers,  sixteen  parts  consist  of  oil,  which  is  equivalent 
to  38 .4  of  sugar  or  starch  ;  hence  the  total  of  fat-formers  (adding 
half  of  the  ash  and  woody  fiber),  is  64.5.  This  gives  an  albumi- 
noid ratio  of  1 :1.57.  Straw  and  cotton-seed  meal  together  have 
an  albuminoid  ratio  of  1 :15,  which  is  more  nearly  correct  than 
that  of  the  straw  and  corn.  One  hundred  pounds  of  cotton- 
seed, therefore,  has  a  higher  value  for  feeding  in  connection 
with  straw  (or,  for  that  matter,  with  any  coarse  feed),  than  one 
hundred  pounds  of  com.  It  will  be  for  the  farmer  to  determine 
whether  it  would  not  be  good  policy  for  him  to  sell  his  corn  and 
buy  cotton-seed. 


62  THE   AMERICA:Br   MERIXO 

Value  of  Analytical  Tables. — All  these  calculations  as  to 
the  value  of  different  feeds  and  grains,  however,  are  like  the 
tables  of  values  given  for  commercial  fertilizers.  The  Govern- 
ment or  State  chemist  works  out  the  value  in  dollars  and  cents 
of  so  much  nitrogen,  so  much  phosphoric  acid,  so  much  lime, 
etc.  But  there  is  an  infinite  number  of  soils,  and  an  infinite 
variety  of  circumstances  under  which  these  fertilizers  are  ap- 
plied, all  of  which  tend  to  bring  different  results  and  sometimes 
seem  to  belie  absolutely  the  chemist's  analysis.  No  judicious 
farmer  will  depend  at  all  on  these  arithmetical  values  of  hay 
and  grain,  except  in  this  way  :  He  will  consult  them  to  get  a 
general  idea  of  their  comparative  richness  to  start  on,  then  he 
will  adjust  his  feed-rations  somewhat  nearly  as  they  indicate, 
and  thoroughly  scrutinize  the  outcome.  No  sea-captain  will 
neglect  his  charts,  but  he  will  keep  a  most  vigilant  lookout  for 
rocks  and  coasts  and  icebergs,  nevertheless. 

Roots. — Probably  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  the  dan- 
ger of  depending  on  these  tables  without  the  "  light  of  experi- 
ence" to  guide  us,  is  afforded  by  the  "  nutritive  values  "  of 
roots.  The  chemist  gives  a  turnip  such  a  high  percentage  of 
"water,"  and  yet  we  know  from  practice  that,  when  given  in 
connection  with  dry  feed,  it  has  such  a  marked  value,  that  it  is 
a  mere  waste  of  space  to  print  the  * '  nutritive  equivalents  "  of 
roots  for  the  guidance  of  a  practical  feeder.  When  taken  into 
the  sheep's  stomach,  there  is  something  in  the  water  of  a  eugar- 
beet,  as  there  is  in  the  water  of  grass,  which  behes  all  chem- 
istry. 

The  chief  point  of  excellence  claimed  for  roots  is,  that  they 
supply  the  amount  of  water  which  all  animals  need  when  on 
dry  feed,  in  a  moderate  and  gradual  way.  If  cut  or  pulped  and 
mixed  with  bran,  oats,  or  mill-feed,  they  furnish  a  soft,  semi- 
liquid  mass,  which  does  not  irritate  the  coats  of  the  stomach, 
and  does  not  overload  it  or  dilute  its  solvent  juices  as  a  copious 
draught  of  cold  water  taken  all  at  once  would  be  apt  to  do. 
There  is  force  in  this  argument.  Sheep  ought  to  be  compelled, 
as  much  as  possible,  to  eat  their  feed  dry,  as  the  saliva  thereby 
secreted  and  mingled  with  it  is  of  far  more  efficacy  in  assisting 
the  stomach  in  digestion  than  any  juice  of  roots,  or  any  other 
moisture  could  be ;  still,  it  is  undoubtedly  injurious  to  the 
sheep  to  be  obliged  to  drink  at  one  time  all  the  water  it  requires 
in  twenty-four  hours,  especially  if  it  is  ice-cold. 

Roots  are  not  so  necessary  for  Merinos  as  they  are  for  the 
mutton-breeds ;   they  are  principally  useful  for  ewes  when  giv- 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOTnT. 


63 


ing  milk,  and  for  a  short  period  before  they  begin.  Sugar- 
beets,  mangels,  ruta-bagas,  yellow  turnips,  white  turnips,  are 
valuable  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  given. 

Mixed  Feeds. — There  are  two  cardinal  principles  in  relation 
to  mixed  feed  ;  first,  that  mixed  feeds  are  better  than  plain  ; 
second,  that  all  the  elements  of  the  mixture  should  be  fed  each 
day,  instead  of  one  element  for  one  day  or  one  week,  and  an- 
other for  another  day  or  week.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  experi- 
ments at  Rothamstead,  England,  showed  that  eight  pounds  of 
peas  would  make  a  pound  of  live  weight,  or  six  potmds  of  oil- 
cake meal ;  while,  of  peas  and  oil-cake  meal  mixed,  four  and 
one-half  pounds  would  suffice  It  is  as  an  element  of  mixed 
feed  that  roots  attain  their  greatest  value.  Thus,  in  a  great 
majority  of  cases,  it  will  be  found  that  a  sheep  receiving  three 
pounds  of  bright  wheat  straw,  and  six  pounds  of  turnips  per 
day,  will  increase  as  much  in  weight,  or  keep  in  as  good  con- 
dition, as  another  receiving  three  pounds  of  the  best  timothy 
hay ;  while  the  latter  ration  will  be  the  less  expensive  of  the 
two. 

Amount  of  Feed  Per  Sheep.— It  has  been  ascertained  that 
to  keep  a  sheep  in  good  thriving  condition,  fifteen  pounds  of 
perfectly  dry  feed  (of  average  good  quality),  is  required  per 
week  for  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  live  weight.  But  since 
hay  and  grain,  in  their  ordinary  condition,  contain  about  four- 
teen per  cent,  of  water,  from  eighteen  to  twenty  pounds  per 
week  will  be  necessary,  or  about  three  pounds  per  day.  To 
faciUtate  digestion  and  prevent  constipation,  it  would  be  well 
if  an  equivalent  of  this  amount  of  nutriment  could  be  expanded 
in  bulk,  so  as  to  weigh  seven  or  eight  pounds. 

Practical  Correlation  of  Feeds. — In  the  following  table 
I  have  given  the  albuminoid  ratios  of  several  varieties  of  feed, 
singly  and  combined,  as  a  hint  to  the  practical  feeder  : 


Corn 

Oats 

Rye 

Barley 

Cotton-seed  . . 
Linseed  cake, 
Wheat  bran. . 
Shorts 


Meadow  hay. 
Clovei"  hay. 


Wheat  straw 
Corn  fodder 


Ratio. 


1:8 
1:4.3 


1:29 
1:12.4 


Together. 


1:7.8 
1:4.5 


1:15.3 
1:8.3 


From  this  we  see  that  oats  and  clover  hay  would  be  a  com- 


64  THE  america:n^  merin^o 

bination  too  rich  in  albuminoids,  some  of  which  would  be  con- 
verted in  the  stomach  into  carbo-hydrates  ;  consequently  the 
farmer  who  should  give  these  feeds  together  would  not  be  pur- 
suing an  economical  course,  unless  it  was  young  lambs  or  ewes 
giving  milk  which  he  was  feeding.  For  either  of  these  classes 
of  sheep  it  would  be  an  admirable  combination  ;  but  to  mature 
stock-sheep,  or  even  to  fattening  wethers,  he  would  do  better 
to  give  meadow  hay,  and  with  it  corn,  or  cotton-seed,  or  lin- 
seed-cake meal.  Another  fact  revealed  by  this  table  is,  that 
wheat  bran  is  better,  weight  for  weight,  for  young  lambs  and 
Buckling  ewes,  than  com  meal — so  much  better  that,  in  most 
cases,  it  would  probably  pay  the  farmer  to  exchange  his  meal 
for  bran,  even  if  he  had  to  transport  it  some  distance. 

If  the  bran  has  been  ground  by  the  "new  process,"  it  is  not 
so  rich  in  starch  as  old-fashioned  bran  was,  but  richer  in  pro- 
teine.  Linseed-cake  meal,  owing  to  improved  machinery  and 
the  higher  degree  of  pressure  now  employed  in  extracting  the 
oil,  has  only  six  to  nine  per  cent,  of  oil  (sometimes  only  two 
and  one-half),  where  it  used  to  have  ten  to  twelve.  But  this 
actually  increases  its  albuminoid  ratio  (which  gives  it  its  great 
value) ;  does  not  diminish  the  proportion  of  mucilage  and  di- 
gestible fiber  ;  and  the  hard-pressed  cakes  keep  better  than  those 
which  were  more  loosely  made  under  the  old  process. 

Experiments  in  Feeding. — But,  after  all  that  the  most  care- 
ful scientific  investigators  may  ascertain  for  our  guidance,  there 
is  nothing  equal  in  value  to  actual  experience,  what  might  be 
called  the  testimony  of  the  sheep,  M.  Moll,  a  noted  French 
writer,  thinks  fine-wooled  sheep  reach  their  best  estate  in  the 
region  of  the  vine  and  the  mulberry.  In  America,  I  would  sub- 
stitute for  this  the  latitudes  adapted  to  Indian  corn.  This  is 
to  the  Western  farmer  what  the  turnip  is  to  the  English  shep- 
herd. 

My  experience  for  years  in  feeding  sheep  on  fodder  (which  is 
better  every  way  than  fodder-corn,  except  for  nursing  ewes), 
has  given  me  the  highest  opinion  of  its  value  for  this  purpose. 
The  silk-worm-like  closeness  with  which  they  pick  every  shred 
of  the  foliage  from  the  canes  obviates  the  necessity  of  cutting 
the  stalks,  which  is  an  operation  of  dubious  profitableness  with 
the  coarse  "Western  corn.  Besides  that,  fodder  has  a  most  ad- 
mirable effect  on  the  respiratory  and  circulatory  systems.  A 
horse  may  often  be  cured  of  a  mild  case  of  heaves  by  the  sub- 
stitution of  fodder  for  hay  in  liis  manger.  Tlius,  by  quicken- 
ing and  stimulating  the  circulation,  fodder  is  a  better  feed  than 


FOR   WOOL   AXU   MUTTOX.  65 

hay  for  increasing  the  wool  product.  It  is  more  laxative  than 
timothy  or  any  other  hay,  except  clover.  A  perfect  ration  for 
sheep  should  include  at  least  one  daily  feed  of  bright  fodder  ;  it 
is  far  preferable  to  rye  and  (bearded)  wheat  straw,  the  beards  of 
which  are  liable  to  cause  great  irritation  to  the  coats  of  the 
stomach. 

One  winter  I  fed  a  flock  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
young  sheep,  mostly  yearlings,  one  and  a  half  bushels  of  shelled 
corn  and  eighteen  bundles  of  fodder  per  day.  With  a  run  of 
two  or  three  hours  a  day  on  an  old  sod,  they  wintered  remark- 
ably well.  The  current  local  price  for  fodder  is  ten  cents  a 
shock  of  eighty  hills.  Planted  in  rows  three  feet  ten  inches 
apart,  there  would  be  thirty-three  and  four-fifth  shocks  to  the 
acre.  Four  bundles  make  a  shock.  The  fodder  on  an  acre  is 
worth  $3.38.  The  flock  consumes  forty-five  cents'  worth  per 
day.  Of  corn,  at  forty  cents  a  bushel,  they  require  sixty  cents' 
worth  per  day.  They  are  fed,  say,  four  and  a  half  months  (this 
will  allow  for  the  diminished  ration  at  the  beginning  and  end 
of  tne  season).  This  will  make  their  winter's  supply  of  fodder 
cost  $60.75,  and  their  corn  $81  ;  total,  $141.75.  This  flock  would 
have  required  three  hundred  pounds  of  hay  per  day,  which,  at 
$10  a  ton,  would  be  worth  $1.50.  Against  this,  the  daily  ration 
of  fodder  and  corn  cost  $1.05. 

The  best  way  to  employ  wheat  straw  for  sheep  is  in  connec- 
tion with  fodder,  details  of  wliich  are  given  in  the  chapter  on 
•'Winter  Management." 

Mr.  Arvine  C.  Wales,  of  Stark  County,  Ohio,  who  grew  annu- 
ally about  seventy  acres  of  fodder  corn  for  sheep,  gave  in  The 
Shepherd's  National  Journal,  the  following  experience  : 

"I  selected  out  three  hundred  ewes,  and  divided  them  into 
two  lots  as  evenly  as  I  could.  One  hundred  and  fifty  were  put 
into  one  shed,  and  a  like  number  into  a  shed  near  by.  Between 
the  two  sheds  there  was  a  set  of  stock  scales.  Each  lot  of  sheep 
was  carefully  weighed  at  the  beginning  of  the  experiment,  and 
were  weighed  again  each  week  for  eight  weeks.  During  the 
continuance  of  the  experiment  I  was  asking  questions  for  my 
own  information,  and  had  no  interest  except  to  get  at  the  truth. 
One  lot  of  sheep  was  fed  with  one  feed  per  day  of  good  clover 
and  timothy  hay,  and  one  feed  of  sheaf  oats.  The  other  lot  re- 
ceived two  feeds  of  the  fodder  corn,  which  I  cut  up  by  horse- 
power, mixed  with  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  bran .  I  poured  hot 
water  over  it  and  let  it  soak  from  morning  until  evening,  or 
from  evening  until  morning.     I  have  not  the  minutes  of  these 


66  THE   AMERICAN"   MERIXO 

experiments  before  me,  but  I  remember  that  the  sheep  fed  on 
the  fodder  corn  showed  a  marked  gain  over  the  other  lot.  The 
dung  was  about  of  the  consistence  of  that  of  sheep  on  dryish 
pasture.  They  drank  very  httle  water,  and  I  thought  the 
growth  of  wool  was  healthier  and  stronger  than  that  on  the 
other  lot." 

In  the  Far  West  the  question  of  a  feed-supply  is  becoming 
yearly  of  more  pressing  importance.  Those  vast  regions  are 
fitted  for  pastoral  pursuits  ;  they  will  be  the  stronghold  and 
refuge  of  the  American  Merino.  But  some  artificial  provision 
of  feed  must  be  made  for  the  occasional  heavy  snow-storm,  or 
else  the  wools  of  those  regions  will  continue  to  be  "jointed," 
untrue,  unfit  for  combing  purposes,  and  falling  ten  to  twenty 
per  cent,  below  the  price  they  might  by  good  management  be 
made  to  command. 

Prairie  hay  is  generally  excellent  from  most  localities  ;  not 
surpassed  by  that  made  from  cultivated  grasses.  These  natural 
meadows  can  be  cheaply  enclosed  with  -wire  and  iron  posts. 
Great  hay-barracks,  like  those  of  Northern  California,  holding 
two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  tons  each,  could  be 
made  with  iron  roofing  and  siding.  If  not  filled  in  one  year, 
they  could  be  in  two  or  three  ;  then  they  would  be  ready  for  an 
emergency. 

Alfalfa  is  full  of  promise  to  the  "Western  flock-master.  It 
was  the  growing  of  Alfalfa  in  California  which  checked  the 
flow  of  sheep  from  that  State  to  Colorado.  A  hundred  days' 
feeding  on  Alfalfa,  with  a  half-pound  of  oats  per  head,  daily, 
makes  very  fat  sheep  and  exceptionally  sweet,  tender  mutton. 
It  will  completely  remove  from  the  flesh  the  flavor  of  the  Black 
Sage,  and  other  offensive  shrubs  and  plants  of  the  West.  It  is 
sometimes  slightly  productive  of  scours  and  hoven,  if  allowed 
to  grow  too  rank  before  the  sheep  are  turned  on  it ;  but  lumps  of 
rock-salt  kept  constantly  within  reach  of  the  flock,  have  been 
found  in  California  to  be  a  preventive  of  these  troubles.  Ber- 
muda grass,  so  common  and  so  dreaded  by  the  cotton-planters 
of  the  South,  has  been  found  to  succeed  in  alkali  soil,  even 
where  the  deposit  was  very  strong — and  this  gi'ass  is  admirable 
for  sheep. 

The  Sheep  Needs  Mineral  Matters. — The  art  of  feeding 
takes  account  of  all  that  the  sheep  requires  to  promote  its 
health  and  growth.  Not  only  the^feed,  but  the  water  must  be 
considered.     The  sheep  needs  a  large  proportion  of  mineral 


FOR    WOOL    Ais^D    MUTT0:N'.  6? 

matter,  either  in  its  feed  or  in  the  water.  Five  per  cent  of 
clean  wool  is  sulphur  ;  two  per  cent  of  the  sheep's  urine  is 
mineral ;  thirteen  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  dung  is  mineral ; 
the  bones  contain  sixty  to  seventy  per  cent  of  phosphate  and 
carbonate  of  lime  ;  the  yolk  has  a  large  proportion  of  potash, 
and  the  flesh  and  blood  contain  the  following  mineral  sub- 
stances :  Phosphorus,  sodium,  potassium,  chlorine,  magnesia, 
iron  and  lime.  The  bones  of  the  sheep  contain  eleven  per  cent 
more  of  the  carbonate  of  lime  than  those  of  the  ox,  five  per 
cent  more  of  the  phosphate  of  lime,  and  a  fraction  more  of 
magnesia,  lime,  potash,  etc.  This  shows  the  necessity  of  sup- 
plying the  sheep  with  mineral  matters.  Soft  water  is  not  so 
healthful  and  nourishing  to  a  flock  as  hard  water.  The  health- 
iest flock  I  think  I  ever  saw  was  one  on  the  Nascimiento  River, 
in  California,  which  had  no  water  to  drink  during  the  six 
months'  drought  of  summer,  except  that  from  some  strong 
sulphur  springs  in  the  bed  of  the  river.  Ashes,  lime,  sulphur, 
coj)peras,  in  small  quantities,  form  an  excellent  addition  to 
their  salt.  On  the  great  alkali  plains  of  the  Far  West  sheep 
frequently  have  to  be  kept  away  from  alkali  ponds  and  de- 
posits ;  they  eat  so  much  of  it  as  to  do  them  harm,  though 
perhaps  they  would  not,  if  allowed  to  visit  them  often  and 
regularly. 


CHAPTEE    VII. 
PASTURE  IN  THE  WEST. 

In  subsequent  chapters  detached  notes  are  given  on  the 
grasses  peculiar  to  the  regions  west  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  it 
may  be  well  to  present  here  a  condensed  view  of  the  various 
grasses,  plants  and  shrubs,  with  which  the  shepherd  has  to  do 
throughout  the  United  States. 

The  grasses  of  the  East,  both  wild  and  cultivated,  generally 
form  an  unbroken  turf ;  but  those  of  the  remote  West  seem  to 
protect  themselves  against  the  great  aridity  of  the  climate  by 
growing  in  bunches  or  tufts,  with  the  spaces  between  either 
naked,  or  overgrown  with  weeds.  Hence  the  popular  name, 
"  Bunch-grass,"  which  is  extremely  indefinite,  describing  noth- 
ing except  the  habit  of  growth,  and  applied  to  several  different 


68  THE   AMERICAN"   MERIXO 

species.  The  grasses  of  the  great  arid  region  are  scanty,  but 
are  mostly  sweet  and  nutritious,  both  for  summer  and  winter 
grazing.  A  considerable  part  of  their  value  arises  from  their 
greater  richness  in  seed  than  the  Eastern  grasses.  The  winter 
aridity  is  so  great,  generally,  and  the  stems  of  the  grasses  so 
stiff  and  strong  that,  when  touched  by  frost,  they  do  not  be- 
come broken  down  by  the  rains  and  snows  to  decay  on  the 
moist  soil,  but  stand  firmly  on  the  ground  all  winter  long  and 
*'  cure,"  forming  a  sort  of  uncut  hay. 

To  a  considerable  degree,  the  greater  or  less  abundance  of  the 
grasses  is  dependent  on  latitude  and  altitude  ;  the  higher  the 
latitude,  the  better  are  the  grasses,  and  they  improve  as  the  al- 
titude increases.  In  the  mid-continental  region,  in  low  altitudes 
and  latitudes,  the  grasses  are  so  scanty  as  to  be  of  little  or  no 
value  ;  here  the  true  deserts  occur.  Also,  on  the  Atlantic  slope 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  (especially  the  eastern  part  of  it)  and 
on  the  Pacific  cost,  the  grasses  are  coarser  than  those  of  the 
great  central  basin.  In  the  prairie  section,  proper,  the  native 
grasses  are  coarse  and  rough  ;  they  have  to  be  kept  closely  de- 
pastured, or  they  become  unpalatable  to  sheep.  They  form  a 
very  fair  article  of  hay,  often  scarcely  inferior  to  Eastern  hay  ; 
but  the  leaves  are  so  harsh  that  they  frequently  give  sore  mouths 
to  the  sheep.  These  grasses  are  also  rather  susceptible  to  frost ; 
in  the  latitude  of  Southern  Kansas  they  are  generally  cut  o£f  by 
November  1,  thereafter  becoming  "  dry  feed." 

On  the  Pacific  Coast,  several  of  the  more  important  grasses 
are  noted  for  their  rankness  of  growth  and  their  prolificacy  in 
seeds,  these  constituting  a  large  share  of  their  value.  Further- 
more, being  annuals,  they  depend  on  their  seeds  for  propaga- 
tion, and  the  consumption  of  these  by  sheep  curtails  their 
volume  from  year  to  year. 

The  finer  and  sweeter  perennial  grasses  which  are  more  char- 
acteristic of  the  central  continental  region  are  better  suited  for 
sheep,  though  the  available  pasturage  areas  are  much  lessened 
by  low  alkali  and  sandy  deserts,  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  rocky, 
broken  mountain  chains,  on  the  other. 

East  of  the  Mississippi  the  Blue-grass  or  June  grass  (Poa  pra- 
tensis)  is,  of  all  the  grasses,  cultivated  or  self  sown,  the  best  for 
sheep,  and  it  is  likewise  the  most  widely  spread.  It  yields  a 
scanty  crop  of  hay,  but  it  grows  so  early  and  so  late,  makes  so 
tough  a  sod,  is  so  ri(^h  and  so  eagerly  sought  after  by  sheep, 
that  it  is  always  good  policy  to  allow  it  to  take  possession  of  a 
considerable  part  of  the  land  devoted  to  pasture.     P.  coinpressa 


FOR    WOOL  AND    MUTTOX.  69 

is  the  Wire-grass  ;  in  Ohio  it  is  better  for  pasture  than  the  June 
grass.  P.  annua  has  become  naturalized  in  many  parts  of  the 
South.  In  Northern  Texas  it  becomes  a  bright  green  in  the  fall, 
withstands  the  cold  better  than  other  grasses  ;  in  February  and 
March  makes  a  strong  growth  and  furnishes  good  grazing  when 
no  other  grass  does  ;  but  it  does  not  resist  drought  well  in  the 
summer.  It  is  highly  relished  by  sheep,  but  is  so  small  that,  it 
is  chiefly  valuable  in  the  winter.  P.  serotina,  False  red-top,  is 
found  in  Oregon  and  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  eastward  to  the 
Atlantic  it  is  common  where  the  soil  is  moist.  The  Kentucky 
Blue-grass  is  becoming  common  in  California  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  P.  alpina  is  found  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  nearly  up  to  the  line  of  perpetual  snow.  P. 
tenuifolia  is  one  of  the  valuable  bunch-grasses  of  the  West. 

Timothy  becomes  naturalized  wherever  the  soil  and  climate 
permit ;  it  is  already  sown  and  is  common  through  the  moun- 
tains and  in  irrigated  districts  quite  across  the  continent.  In 
the  Far  West  it  is  too  valuable  for  hay  to  be  grazed  much  ; 
sheep  would  destroy  it. 

Buchlo'e  dactyloides  is  the  celebrated  Buffalo-grass,  one  of  the 
most  nutritious  grasses  of  the  West.  It  is  short,  curly,  and  in- 
creases by  runners  as  well  as  by  seed  an  A  root.  In  Texas  it 
is  sometimes  called  "  Vining  Mesquite."  It  belongs  to  the  dry 
and  elevated  plateaus  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Kansas,  and 
from  Mexico  to  British  America. 

Bouteloua  oligostachya  is  the  true  Grama-grass,  so  called  from 
Texas  to  Arizona,  Southern  California  and  Colorado,  but  known 
under  other  names  north  of  Colorado,  as  far  up  as  Montana. 
B.  hirsuta  is  the  Black  Grama,  with  about  the  same  range  as  the 
above,  but  not  reaching  California.  Both  are  of  the  highest 
value,  especially  in  Southern  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  where 
the  " Grama  Belt"  is  celebrated  for  fattening  stock  like  grain. 

Andropogon  scoparius,  Sage-grass,  Broom-grass,  forms  twenty 
per  cent  of  the  pasture  in  parts  of  Kansas,  and  ranges,  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  far  south  as  Texas.  A.  furcatus,  Blue- 
stem,  or  Blue-joint,  constitues  forty  per  cent  of  the  pasture  in 
some  places  in  Kansas.  These  and  others  are  good  fattening 
grasses. 

Stipa  occidentalis  is  a  common  bunch-grass  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  and  S.  comata  in  Montana.  Both  are  valuable  for 
sheep. 

Munroa  squarrosa  is  a  low,  nutritious  "  Buffalo-grass,"  in  the 


70  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

north,  and  a  *' Grama-grass"  in  Texas.  It  originally  covered 
tracts  of  thousands  of  acres  together  on  the  northern  plains. 

Festuca  is  a  very  large  genus,  of  much  value,  following  sheep 
and  cattle  wherever  they  go.  F.  ov.'na,  Sheep's  Fescue,  is  com- 
mon in  the  cooler  parts,  from  California  and  Montana  to  the 
Atlantic  ;  it  is  one  of  the  best  of  grasses  for  sheep,  and  has  fol- 
lowed them  around  the  earth,  even  to  New  Zealand,  Australia 
and  Tasmania.  Among  the  native  species  of  value  are  F.  occi- 
dentalis,  in  Oregon,  and  F.  scdbrella,  from  California  to  the 
Eocky  Mountains. 

Hilaria  rigida,  known  as  "Gallotte"  or  "Galletta"  (perhaps 
the  same  as  the  "  Gietta-grass  "  of  Arizona),  forms  a  large  part 
of  the  pasture  on  the  semi-deserts  of  San  Bernardino  County, 
California.     It  is  a  hard  grass,  but  valuable. 

Calamagrosfis  Canadensis  is  perhaps  best  entitled  to  the 
name  "Blue-joint,"  of  all  the  various  grasses  so-called.  Its 
range  is  rather  northerly  and  mountainous,  from  California  to 
the  Atlantic.  It  is  a  favorite  grass  for  hay,  and  it  stands  so 
erect  in  winter  that  it  is  one  of  the  chief  supplies  for  sheep  in  a 
deep  snow. 

Eriocoma  cusp'data,  the  Sand-grass  of  Utah,  is  a  very  nutri- 
tious, valley  bunch-grass. 

Sporobolus  airoides,  known  in  Utah  as  "  Vilfa,"  is  a  lowland 
grass,  remarkable  for  its  power  of  taking  up  alkali,  which  gives 
the  whole  plant  a  salty  taste.  Cattle  are  injured  by  it  at  first, 
but  sheep  not  so  much. 

Aira  ccespotosa,  a  red-topped  grass,  is  found  in  the  arid  re- 
gion, surrounding  the  small  lakes  and  tarns,  sometimes  at  an 
elevation  of  eleven  thousand  feet ;  it  forms  a  continuous  sod, 
and  is  a  very  beautiful  and  valuable  grass. 

The  chief  grasses  of  the  elevated  timber  tracts  belong  to  the 
genus  Bromus ;  when  young  they  are  tender  and  good,  but  with 
ago  they  become  tough  and  worthless. 

Agrostis  vulgaris,  common  Red-top,  follows  cattle  and  sheep 
in  the  cooler  regions  ;  always  valuable. 

Atropis  tenuifoUa  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  bunch-grasses 
from  San  Diego  to  Oregon,  and  Colorado. 

Hordeum  murinum,  the  odious  Squirrel-grass  or  Foxtail-grass 
of  C3,lif  ornia.  When  the  heads  ripen  they  break  up  and  the  barbed 
seeds  and  awns  work  into  the  wool,  and  even  into  the  flesh  of 
sheep,  in  some  places  killing  many  lambs ;   they  get  into  the 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOiT.  71 

eyes  and  injure  or  destroy  the  sight.     It  is  one  of  the  worst 
vegetable  pests  of  California. 

31uhlenbergia  gracillina  is  another  of  the  species  commonly, 
but  incorrectly,  called  Buffalo-grass  ;  it  is  a  low,  nutritious 
grass,  common  on  the  plateaus  from  Colorado  to  Texas. 

Of  clover  {Trifolium)  there  are  five  species  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, while  west  of  it  there  are  some  forty,  of  which  twenty- 
five  are  found  in  California  alone.  Only  one  {T.  Andersonii),  is 
not  eaten  by  stock.  The  burs  of  the  bur-clover  (Medicago  denti- 
culata),  furnish  sheep  a  large  amount  of  rich,  oily  seed,  but 
they  work  into  the  wool  and  compel  flock-masters  to  shear  in 
the  fall  to  get  rid  of  them.  Indeed,  it  is  believed  that  sheep 
have  thus  been  the  vehicle  for  its  dissemination  in  regions 
where  it  was  unknown  before. 

Alfileria  or  Pin-clover  {Erodhim  Cicutarium),  is  a  valuable 
forage  plant  which  follows  cultivation.  It  furnishes  a  heavy 
swath  on  lowlands  ;  the  hay  is  black  and  becomes  much  broken 
and  chaffy,  but  is  very  nutritious. 

Over  many  of  the  drier  sections  of  the  interior,  various  shnibs 
form  a  notable  feed  in  the  winter.  Prominent  among  these  is 
the  celebrated  "  White  Sage,"  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
"Winter  Fat"  {Eurotia  lanata),  which  ranges  from  the  Sas- 
katchawan  to  New  Mexico,  and  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  the 
Rocky  ]\[ountains.  After  frosts  come  its  quality  is  improved 
as  is  true  of  other  shrubs  of  the  same  order  (Chenopodiacece), 
and  it  is  a  valuable  winter  forage  in  many  places  in  the  Great 
Basin.  Other  species  are  here  and  there  called  white  sage,  but 
this  is  the  one  par  excellence. 

The  name  "  Greasewood  "  is  applied  to  a  considerable  number 
of  plants.  The  most  common  ones,  however,  are  the  Sarcobatus 
vermiculatus  and  Ahione  canescens,  both  more  or  less  thorny 
shrubs  and  looking  most  unpromising  as  forage,  but  which 
nevertheless  have  considerable  value.  Pursliia  tridentata  is 
also  widely  known  as  greasewood,  and  is  eaten  by  stock,  and  so 
are  a  number  of  other  species  less  common  and  of  less  value. 

The  Mesquite  {Prosopis  jidiflora)  grows  as  a  shrub  or  small 
tree  on  the  dry  slopes  and  mesas  from  Texas  to  California,  and 
produces  a  crop  of  sweetish  pods,  four,  six  or  more  inches  long, 
and  each  containing  numerous  bean-like  seeds.  Both  the  pods 
and  the  seeds  are  eagerly  eaten  by  stock,  and  are  very  nutritious. 

'*  Sage  "  is  a  name  given  by  the  early  mountaineers  to  the 
shrubby  species  of  Artemisia  found  so  abundantly  from  the 


72  THE   AMERICAN   MERIJTO 

plains  to  the  Pacific.  There  are  many  species  of  this  genus, 
bitter,  strong  smelling,  and  belonging  to  dry  regions.  But  the 
name  has  come  to  have  a  wider  use  among  stockmen,  and  be- 
sides the  white  sage  we  have  yellow  sage,  red  sage,  black  eage, 
rabbit  sage,  etc.,  applied  to  various  species  of  shrubs,  some  of 
which  are  eaten  by  stock  in  extremity,  others  more  willingly, 
but  taken  as  a  whole  there  is  not  much  dependence  upon  browse 
feed,  except  with  the  white  sage,  although  in  many  places  it 
forms  an  element  not  to  be  entirely  ignored. 


CHAPTER    VII I. 
A  MUTTON  MERINO. 

One  of  the  great  needs  of  American  diversified  agriculture  is, 
a  general-purpose  sheep.  There  are  few  farms  in  the  United 
States  which  would  not  be  the  better  for  having  some  sheep 
upon  tliem.  They  eat  the  refuse  feed,  and  they  manure  the 
ground.  Sheep  manure,  on  account  of  its  richness  in  silica, 
will  make  wheat  grow  stout  and  short,  with  heavy  heads,  where 
other  manures  produce  long,  soft  straw,  and  not  so  solid  heads. 
It  is  also  excellent  for  com.  "Where  clover  can  be  started  and 
pastured  by  sheep,  or  fed  to  them,  almost  any  worn-out  land 
can  be  reclaimed  in  a  few  years, 

Tlie  Enghsh  sheep  in  America  stands  on  a  Merino  platform. 
The  sheep  of  the  United  States  are  ninety-five  per  cent  Merinos  ; 
and  they  sustain  the  great  wool  and  mutton  substructure  of  the 
country,  on  which  the  British  sheep  can  stand  and  show  an  ex- 
traordinary profit  from  the  sale  of  early  mutton  lambs.  Ho 
who  sells  lambs  cuts  the  throat  of  his  flock.  The  people  of 
England  for  several  years  past,  have  had  to  abstain  from  lamb- 
mutton,  in  order  to  rebuild  the  wasted  flocks  of  the  Island. 
Relegating  to  the  Merino  the  great  foundation-work  of  sheep 
husbandry — mature  mutton  and  wool — the  breeder  of  the 
British  races  in  this  country,  working  on  a  vast  body  of  cheap 
Merino  ewes,  devotes  himself  to  the  exceptional  and  necessarily 
suicidal  industry  of  rearing  early  lambs,  and  makes  exceptional 

profits. 

But  what  does  the  British  sheep  do  when  standing  on  his  own 


FOR   WOOL   A^-D    MUTTO"N".  73 

platform  ?  America  is  a  Merino  country  (and  always  will  be  for 
that  matter),  while  England  is  a  mutton  country  ;  yet,  accord- 
ing to  that  excellent  authority,  Mr.  H.  Stewart,  the  average 
annual  revenue  derived  from  a  sheep  in  England  is  $1.17 ;  in 
the  United  States,  $2.16  !  This,  too,  in  1866,  before  the  bars  of 
the  tariff  were  put  up. 

The  Cotswold  and  the  Downs  are  summer  sheep,  but  the 
Merino  is  a  dry  feeder.  Prof.  J.  W.  Sanborn  fed  twenty-three 
Cotswolds  and  eleven  Merinos  for  fourteen  days,  at  two  different 
times.  The  first  time  the  Cotswolds  ate  three  per  cent  of  their 
live  weight,  daily,  and  the  Merinos  3.9  per  cent.  The  second 
time,  the  Cotswolds  ate  2.8  per  cent  of  their  live  weight  ;  the 
Merinos  3.5.  In  a  letter  to  myself,  he  says  simply:  *'Both 
gained  similarly."  This  does  not  matter,  however  ;  the  greater 
gain  and  value  of  wool  in  the  Merinos  doubtless  compensated 
for  their  larL;er  ration.  The  main  point  is — the  Merino  is  the 
better  dry  feeder. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Crout,  a  feeder  of  many  years'  experience,  says  in 
the  Ohio  Farmer :  "I  feed  different  classes  of  sheep  almost 
every  winter,  and  find  that  no  other  sort  takes  to  feed  so  kindly, 
and  fattens  so  rapidly  ******  if  i  have  long-wooled 
sheep  to  feed,  I  invariably  turn  them  off  early  in  the  winter  ; 
but  I  beheve  I  have  never  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape  hav- 
ing some  culls  from  coarse  sheep." 

In  the  winter  of  1882-3,  Hon.  William  G.  Kirby,  of  Kalama- 
zoo County,  Michigan,  fattened  about  one  thousand  wethers,  of 
which  a  small  number  were  Merinos.  They  were  shorn  in  April 
and  sold  for  the  English  market.  The  Merinos  brought  the  fol- 
lowing amounts  per  head ; 

131  pounds  wool       @  33  cents 84.54 

130  pounds  mutton  @  6i  cents 8.12 

113.66 

• 

The  account,  in  the  American  Sheep-Breeder,  simply  adds : 
•'The  weights  attained  by  the  Merino  wethers  as  given  above, 
though  exceeded  by  the  larger  mutton  breeds  shearing  com- 
paratively light  fleeces,  were  heavy  enough  to  bring  the  top 
price,  and  in  Mr.  Kirby's  opinion  were  grown  and  fed  at  a 
greater  profit  than  any  other  of  the  one  thousand  head,  which 
numbered  equally  choice  specimens  of  the  mutton  breeds." 

In  the  winter  of  1874-5,  Mr.  O.  M.  Watkins,  of  Onondaga 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  fed-two  hundred  and  ninety  sheep,  of  which  one 
hundred  were  Merinos,  and  ninety  were  Cotswolds.     During 


74  THE  AMERICAN   MERIKO 

January  a  record  was  kept ;  the  Merinos  gained  seven  and  one- 
quarter  pounds  each,  at  a  cost  of  8.4  cents  ;  the  Cotswolds  five 
and  one-quarter  each,  at  a  cost  of  11.6  cents  per  pound.  These 
animals  all  received  the  same  amount  of  feed  per  day,  and  it 
was  all  dry  feed. 

The  explanation  is,  that  the  English  sheep  are  best  adapted  to 
the  damp  cUmate,  the  juicy  turnips  and  the  shade-cured  hay  of 
England  ;  the  Merino  to  the  hot,  dry  climate,  the  oily  corn  and 
the  sun-dried  hay  of  America. 

No  one  disputes  the  remarkable  precocity  of  the  English 
breeds.  A  Hampshire-down  lamb  on  its  native  grass  near  Salis- 
bury, has  increased  eight-tenths  of  a  pound  daily,  for  a  good 
many  days  together  !  But  the  breeding  of  early  market  lambs 
is  an  exceptional,  extravagant  and  necessarily  suicidal  industry. 
Only  one  man  in  a  thousand  can  afford  to  eat  spring  lamb  ;  the 
vast  majority  of  mankind  who  eat  mutton  at  all,  must  be  con- 
tent with  the  mature  flesh.  And  for  nearly  half  the  year  in 
America,  if  not  the  whole  year,  mutton  can  not  be  made  so 
profitable  in  the  large  way  (body  and  fleece  taken  together),  from 
the  English  breeds,  as  from  the  Merino. 

We  want  the  English  breeds  near  our  cities  to  furnish  spring 
lambs,  and  long,  coarse  wool,  and  root-fed  or  grass-mutton,  for 
export  to  England ;  but  the  Merino  will  never  cease  to  supply 
most  Americans  with  their  corn-and-hay-fed  mutton. 

The  assertion  that  first-rate  chops  and  roast  can  not  be  cut 
from  any  but  an  English  carcass,  is  old  and  womout ;  and, 
moreover,  wholly  unwarranted.  There  is  only  one  genuine 
mutton-sheep  worth  considering,  and  that  is  the  Southdown, 
whose  wool  is  comparatively  fine.  The  coarser  the  fiber  of  the 
fleece,  the  coarser  the  grain  of  the  mutton.  The  heavy,  loose- 
wooled  Cotswold  and  Shropshire  produce  mutton,  as  Lord 
Summerville  says,  "fit  for  such  markets  as  supply  shipping  and 
collieries" — ham-fat  and  thick  on  the  rib. 

The  mature  American  Merino,  with  its  fine-grained  flesh, 
when  it  has  been  properly  fed  and  butchered,  yields  chop,  boil 
or  roast,  second  only  to  the  Southdown,  if,  indeed,  it  is  at  all 
inferior.  The  superiority  of  the  Southdown,  if  it  has  any,  con- 
sists, not  in  the  sweetness  and  tenderness  of  the  flesh,  but  in  the 
thickness  of  the  hams  and  the  "marbling,"  or  the  distribution 
of  fat  among  the  lean. 

The  idea  that  the  wool  gives  taste  to  the  flesh,  either  by  its 
growth  before  butchering,  or  by  its  touch  in  the  butchering,  or 
after,  is  a  very  old  one,  but  it  is  erroneous.    The  flesh  of  the 


FOR   WOOL  A:N'r>   MUTTOK.  75 

sheep  partakes  of  the  flavor  of  its  feed  more  than  does  that  of  the 
steer  or  the  hog ;  and  the  milk  still  more  perhaps.  But  all  the 
apparatus  of  glands  and  tissues,  for  the  manufacture  of  wool, 
is  situated  in  the  skin,  and  all  its  deposits  are  made  there,  with- 
out affecting  the  flesh. 

The  disagreeable  '*  sheepy  "  flavor  is  imparted  to  meat  by  age, 
by  bad  feeding  (or  no  feeding  at  all),  by  wrinkles,  and  by  delay 
in  the  removal  of  the  viscera.  Let  a  plain  sheep  be  properly 
managed  from  birth  to  butchering,  and  the  entrails  be  taken  out 
with  neatness  and  dispatch,  and  the  carcass  may  be  wrapped  in 
the  skin  without  detriment,  barring  the  uncleanliness.  From 
the  enormous  preponderance  of  the  breed,  the  much-decried 
"Merino  taste"  is  the  scapegoat  for  all  the  bad  feeding  and 
worse  butchering  of  the  country.  A  sheep  may  yield  the  best 
flesh  of  all  the  domesticated  animals  or  fowls — or  the  worst, 

A  cry  comes  up  from  the  Territories  and  from  Texas,  that 
they  must  have  a  larger  carcass,  "more  mutton  and  more  wool 
on  fewer  legs."  These  men  do  not  correctly  perceive  what  is 
wrong  with  their  Mermos.  It  is  not  size  they  lack,  so  much  as 
quality.  The  sheep  of  Texas  "kill  red,"  as  the  butchers  say. 
Then  they  "  cook  red  ; "  they  will  not  brown  in  the  oven  ;  they 
are  the  despair  of  the  French  chef.  The  sheep  that  *'  rustles " 
is  muscular,  he  is  gamy,  though  not  necessarily  •'  sheepy."  He 
is  never  fat  enough  for  thoroughly  good  eating,  even  when  feed- 
ing on  the  best  Montana  Bunch-grass  or  the  famous  Grama  of 
Texas.  And  when  he  is  forced  to  live  awhile  on  the  Black  sage 
of  Nevada,  or  the  Nopal  cactus  of  Texas,  or  the  Broom-sedge  of 
Georgia,  what  can  we  expect  ? 

Then,  too,  in  the  Far  "West,  the  value  of  sheep  heretofore  as  a 
wool-producer,  has  oftentimes  caused  the  flock-master  to  keep 
his  wethers  until  they  died  of  old  age  or  abuse  ;  whence  has 
arisen  the  delusive  maxim  of  that  section  of  the  United  States, 
"  old  sheep  for  mutton."  But  the  tables  given  by  Mr.  Randall, 
referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  show  that  Merinos,  both  ewes 
and  wethers,  whether  for  wool  or  mutton,  or  for  a  combination 
of  the  two,  have  passed  their  meridian  of  profitableness  at  the 
age  of  two  years.  In  other  words,  young  sheep  produce  not 
only  the  best  mutton,  but  also  the  best  and,  proportionately,  the 
most  wool ;  so  that  the  producer  of  both  articles  can  give  his 
customers  the  quality  they  want  as  to  age,  and  at  the  same  time 
promote  his  own  interests.  And  when  to  the  requisites  above 
noted  is  added  the  others,  viz :  that  the  animal  shall  be  free 


76  TKE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

from  wrinkles,  and  be  slaughtered  under  four  years  of  age,  we 
shall  have  Merino  mutton  of  an  unexceptionable  quality. 

In  the  still,  deep  pastures  of  Ohio,  or  fed  on  corn,  oats  and 
bran,  with  bright  fodder,  hay  and  straw  (add  roots  if  you  will), 
the  flesh  of  the  American  Merino  has  juice  and  flavor.  It  will 
take  on  the  color  in  the  oven  which  is  the  delight  of  the  gour- 
met ;  and  it  will  enrich  with  gravy  the  plump,  brown  potatoes 
which  encircle  its  base,  round  about.  Mutton  is  as  much  re- 
sponsive to  culture  as  music.  What  the  flock-masters  of  the 
Territories  need  is,  to  round  out  the  fattening  of  their  muscular, 
gamy  *' muttons"  with  a  few  months',  or  at  least  weeks',  feed- 
ing on  hay  and  grain,  in  a  field  or  corral.  The  leggy  wethers  of 
the  plains  would  have  to  be  broken  to  quiet  gradually ;  but  a 
reasonable  period  of  rest  and  feed  will  develop  in  their  flesh 
that  fat  and  juice,  which  the  constant  walking  of  their  previous 
lives  had  dried  up. 

A  fat,  smooth  carcass,  weighing  eighty-five  or  ninety  pounds, 
will  sell  only  an  inconsiderable  fraction,  if  at  all,  lower  than  the 
one  of  one  hundred  and  ten,  one  hundred  and  twenty  or  one 
hundred  and  thirty  pounds'  weight,  in  the  Chicago  Stock  Yards. 
In  England,  and  also  in  New  York,  with  its  English  tastes  and 
prepossessions,  a  difference  of  about  a  cent  and  a  half  per  pound 
of  live  weight  is  made  in  favor  of  Southdown,  over  Merino ; 
sometimes  even  two  cents.  But  in  liberal,  cosmopolitan,  (or, 
rather  American)  Chicago,  there  would  usually  be  a  difference 
of  only  three-eighths  to  one-half  cent  a  pound  between  pure 
one-hundred-pound  Merino  wethers  and  one-hundred-and- 
twenty-pound  Southdowns.  In  a  letter  to  me,  Mr.  A.  C. 
Halliwell,  of  the  Chicago  Drorers'  Journal,  says  ;<<*****» 
In  this  market  it  may  be  well  to  state  that  the  demand  for  light 
and  heavy  sheep  varies  ;  largely  owing  to  the  season.  When 
lambs  and  choice  '  handy '  carcasses  are  scarce,  it  often  happens 
that  Merino  grades  sell  higher  than  coarse- wools." 

The  reader  is  referred  to  the  report  of  sales  in  the  Drovers' 
Journal,  of  Chicago,  quoted  in  a  previous  chapter,  showing  how 
almost  completely  quality  rules  the  market,  instead  of  size.  I 
will  add  at  random  a  few  comments  made  by  the  reporter  of 
the  above  journal : 

**  These  Western  sheep  are  among  the  best  mutton  sheep  that 
now  come  to  market.  A  few  years  ago,  Oregon  and  Nebraska 
sheep  were  among  the  most  objectionable  that  came.  The  rca- 
8on  was,  they  were  large-framed,  weighed  about  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds,  and  were  seldom  more  than 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTT0:N'.  'J'? 

half  fat ;  now  they  have  the  same  frames,  but  twenty  to  thirty 
pounds  more  of  good,  solid  meat  on  their  bones,  put  on  with 
good  western  corn  and  hay. 

"  This  market  could  use  a  very  large  number  of  fat  Texas 
sheep  every  day.  In  fact,  there  is  very  Httle  danger  of  crowd- 
ing the  market  with  fat  sheep  suitable  for  making  mutton. 

' '  Ship  fat  sheep  as  fast  as  they  can  be  gathered  ;  and  do  not 
ship  lean,  scrawny  lots  at  all. 

"Buyers  do  not  show  any  partiality  *****  They 
look  at  the  condition  of  the  animal.  If  heavy,  round  and  fat, 
they  pay  top  figures,  no  matter  what  part  of  the  country  the 
sheep  hail  from,  or  what  breed  or  mixture." 

Both  the  Merino  fleece  and  skin  are  superior  to  those  of  the 
Southdown  ;  so,  if  both  were  sold  in  the  wool,  in  Chicago,  there 
would  be  practically  no  difference  between  them. 

But,  if  the  butchers  or  the  fashion  should  insist  on  having  a 
carcass  as  large  as  the  Southdown,  the  American  Merino  is  cap- 
able of  supplying  it.  A  direct  descendant  of  the  famous  ram 
Sweepstakes,  in  Fulton  County,  Ohio,  weighed  when  in  high 
condition,  two  hundred  and  five  pounds.  No  ram  is  admitted 
to  record  in  the  "  Victor-Beall  Delaine  Merino  Register,"  weigh- 
ing under  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  no  ewe  under  one 
hundred  pounds.  Mr.  H.  R.  Pumphrey,  of  Licking  County, 
Ohio,  had  at  one  time  twenty-one  fuh-blood  American  Merino 
yearling  ewes,  which  weighed  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-five  pounds,  or  a  trifle  over  ninety  pounds  apiece  ;  and 
twenty-four  ewe  lambs  weighing  one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pounds,  or  a  little  less  than  seventy  pounds  apiece. 
E.  M.  Morgan,  of  Champaign  County,  Ohio,  reared  thirty -eight 
lambs  from  thirty-five  ewes,  and  at  the  opening  of  winter,  these 
lambs  averaged  seventy-six  pounds.  His  yearling  wethers, 
*'  including  three  dry  ewes,"  averaged  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  pounds.  A  lot  of  full-blood  wethers,  two  years  old,  were 
sold  in  1881,  in  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  which  averaged  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  and  a  half  pounds  with  the  wool  off. 
The  Merino  wethers  of  Michigan  and  of  Washington  County, 
Pa. ,  often  average  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty -five  pounds  with  their  fleeces  off. 

Butchers  and  buyers  seem  to  have  a  sort  of  prejudice  in  favor 
of  a  sheep  that  will  reach  the  even  hundred  pounds  ;  and  I  do 
not  think  the  breeder  of  pure-blood  Mermos  will  find  his  high- 
est profit  in  aiming  much  above  that  figure.  In  a  Shorthorn 
steer,  we  seek  the  greatest  amount  of  beef  in  a  single  animal ; 


78  THE   AilEKICAK   MERIN'O 

but  with  the  sheep,  which  yields  as  a  collateral  product  that 
*'  staple  of  endless  values  and  mysterious  shrinkages,"  we  must 
have  surface  to  grow  it  on. 

In  advising  new  beginners  what  sheep  to  buy,  the  Texas  Live 
Stock  Journal  says  :  *'  Purchase  a  flock  which  will  turn  out  a 
good  hundred-pound  mutton.  Then  see  that  these  sheep  will 
shear  at  least  above  the  average  of  four  pounds  of  wool.  With 
a  flock  shearing  five,  six  or  seven  pounds  of  wool,  with  a  flock 
turning  out  hundred-pound  muttons  at  two  years  old,  with 
sheep  used  to  the  country  and  the  system  in  vogue,  with  a  good 
range  of  mixed  grass  to  run  them  on,  any  intelligent  man  can 
make  a  good  living  profit  on  his  investment  at  present  prices 
for  year's  clips  of  wool." 

No  right-thinking  breeder  of  American  Merinos  will  ever  seek 
to  grow  early  mutton  lambs.  But  a  cross  between  the  Merino 
and  Southdown  produces  admirable  results  in  this  direction. 
The  Merino-Southdown,  from  a  unilateral  cross,  is  probably  the 
nearest  approach  that  will  ever  be  made  to  an  animal  yielding, 
at  the  same  time,  the  best  staple  and  the  finest  quality  of 
mutton. 

It  is  as  a  producer  of  mature  grain-fed  mutton,  and  a  choice 
delaine  or  combing  staple,  that  the  American  Merino  has  before 
it  a  great  future. 

It  is  probable  that  wool  of  equal  value  for  the  manufacture  of 
worsteds,  or  other  fabrics  requiring  a  true  and  strong  fiber,  can 
be  produced  in  no  other  way,  as  the  conditions  to  which  the 
sheep  is  subjected  when  being  judiciously  fed  for  mutton  are 
especially  favorable  to  the  growth  of  a  fiber  of  this  character. 
Life  upon  the  range,  with  its  attendant  exposure  to  extremes  of 
weather  and  alternations  of  plentiful  and  scant  feed,  can  never 
with  certainty  produce  this  class  of  wool. 

Hon.  John  L.  Hayes,  Secretary  of  the  National  Association  of 
Wool  Manufacturers,  said  to  the  Vermont  breeders  in  1884 : 

"The  French  early  Ba%v  that  combing  could  be  applied  to 
Merino  wool ;  and  that  gave  rise  to  the  French  Merino — a  large- 
bodied  animal  growing  a  long  wool.  The  Frencli  invented  var- 
ious fabrics,  merino,  etc.  The  English  did  not  comb  any  wools, 
except  those  of  long  fiber.  Up  to  1865  we  followed  the  English 
practice  and  our  wool  manufactures  urged  the  growing  of  long 
wools.  Then  the  processes  in  vogue  in  France  were  adopted  here, 
and  in  18G9  the  first  worsted  coatings  were  made  in  this  country. 
Tiie  wool  used  was  Merino.  In  187C  there  was  an  astonishing 
exhibit  of  worsted  -at  Philadelphia.   Since  18G9  the  manufacture 


FOR  WOOL  A:N"D  MUTTOIiJ".  79 

of  worsted  has  increased  from  $320,000  annually  to  $45,000,000, 
and  this  has  come  from  your  system  of  breeding,  which  has 
furnished  the  necessary  material." 

The  great  demand  for  wool  created  by  the  fostering  of  the 
protective  tariff,  led  to  the  development  in  the  United  States  of 
the  greatest  wool-producer  the  world  ever  saw  ;  but  it  was  a 
one-sided  animal.  It  is  a  sheep  whose  anatomical  formula  may 
be  comprehensively  stated  thus :  Fifty  pounds  of  carcass,  fifty 
pounds  of  '*  drift,"  six  pounds  of  wool,  twenty  pounds  of  yolk 
—a  total  of  fifty-six  pounds  of  wool  and  flesh,  to  seventy  pounds 
of  waste.  Such  an  animal  cannot  stand  the  test  of  a  many- 
sided  civilization.    From  the  production  of  wool  there  has  set 


Fiff.  6. — A  RAMBOUILLET  MEEINO. 

in  an  extreme  reaction  to  the  production  of  mutton  from 
English  breeds.  It  would  be  wiser  for  us  to  do  as  the  disciples 
of  Daubenton  did  in  France— create  out  of  our  own  excellent 
material,  the  American  Merino,  an  animal  yielding  a  three-inch 
delaine  staple,  and  sixty  pounds  of  clear,  ripe  mutton. 

The  French  Merino  was  brought  to  this  country  under  un- 
fortunate auspices  ;  it  came  from  a  high  culture  to  a  raw,  pio- 
neer civilization  ;  and  this  fact,  together  with  the  rapacity 
and  swindlmg  of  its  introducers,  loaded  it  with  obloquy.  But 
with  our  American  soil  and  climate,  superadded  to  the  laborious 
and  searching  care  which  the  French  farmer  is  willing  to  give, 
something  very  like  the  French  Merino  would  be  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  perfect  general-purpose  sheep. 


80  THE    AMERICANS'    MEEINO 

As  a  suggestion,  and  perhaps  a  desirable  model  for  our  Amer- 
ican Merino  breeders  to  follow,  I  will  give  a  brief  outline  of  the 
Rambouillet  Merino.  When  brought  from  Sixain  to  France,  in 
1786,  the  rams  weighed  in  full  fleece  from  one  hundred  and 
thirty  to  one  hundred  and  forty-live  pounds  ;  the  ewes,  ninety 
to  one  hundred  and  five  ;  the  rams'  fleeces,  ten  and  three- 
quarter  pounds ;  the  ewes',  nine  and  one-third  ;  the  staple  of 
the  rams'  fleeces  was  2.18  inches  long  in  the  crimp  ;  that  of  the 
ewes',  2.14.  At  the  date  of  the  Paris  Exposition,  1878,  the  rams 
weighed  in  full  fleece,  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  pounds  ;  the 
ewes,  one  hundred  and  forty  ;  the  rams'  fleeces,  nineteen  and 
three-quarter  pounds ;  the  ewes',  thirteen  and  one-half  ;  the 
staple  of  the  rams'  fleeces  was  2.o7  inches  long  in  the  crimp  ; 
that  of  the  ewes',  2.30.  The  staple  was  about  of  the  same  fineness 
as  when  .they  were  brought  from  Spain,  and  the  fleeces  yielded 
about  the  same  percentage  of  pure  wool,  that  is  thirty  to  thirty- 
three  per  cent.  Their  fleece  weighed  about  ten  per  cent  of  their 
live  weight,  where  our  American  fleeces  reach  twenty  per  cent. 

The  fluctuations  of  fashion  sometimes  operate  disastrously 
on  the  wool-grower.  Since  the  year  1869,  there  have  been  three 
revolutions  in  woolen  manufacture  :  alternations  between  the 
long-haired  wool  used  in  making  the  stiff,  ''  fuU-luster,"  British 
fabrics,  such  as  alpacas  and  brill  antines,  and  the  Merino  wool 
used  in  the  soft,  fine,  clinging  stuffs,  such  as  cashmeres  and 
chillis.  To  say  nothing  of  the  heavy  losses  occasioned  to  wool- 
growers  by  these  changes,  I  wfll  mention  the  case  of  the  Pacific 
Mills,  of  Lawrence,  Mass.  This  great  factory  lost  over  $2,000,- 
000  as  a  result  of  a  single  one  of  these  changes,  that  amount  of 
capital  being  sunk  in  machinery,  thus  rendered  worthless. 

But  the  superiority  of  American  wools,  especially  those  from 
the  Eastern  agricultural  regions,  in  soundness,  length  and 
strength  of  staple,  gives  our  manafacturers  an  advantage  of 
great  value.  The  clips  of  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  West  Vir- 
ginia are  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  produced  in  Christendom, 
not  wholly  on  account  of  a  superior  adaptation  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate, but  also  because  the  Merino  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  best  race  of  farmers  of  civilization. 

The  wool  product  of  the  United  States  for  1884  is  set  down  at 
about  337,000,000  pounds,  against  320,000,000  for  1883.  Our  im- 
ports for  1884  were  a  fraction  short  of  73,000,000  pounds,  against 
84,000,000  in  1883.  Subtracting  the  amount  sent  over  to  Can- 
ada, we  have  about  68,000.000  pounds  as  our  import  for  home 
manufacture.     Only  about  6,000  bales — 2,500,000  pounds — were 


FOR   WOOL   AK^D   MUTTOK.  81 

imported  from  Australia,  to  be  used  in  the  finest  cloths  of  our 
manufacture  ;  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder  imported  was 
carpet  wool.  Now,  it  is  estimated  that  about  ninctj-fivc  per 
cent  of  all  the  sheep  of  the  United  States  are  Merinos,  or  Mei'ino 
grades.  So  then  we  find  that  five  per  cent  of  our  home-grown 
wool  and  perhaps  ten  per  cent  of  the  imported — certainly  not. 
over  seven  per  cent  of  the  whole  amount  of  wool  used  in  our 
manufacture — is  from  the  English  breeds.  And  the  tendency 
is  toward  a  reduction  of  even  this  trifling  percentage. 

The  faint-hearted  flock-master  who  may  be  disposed,  in  a 
temporary  depression  of  values,  to  sacrifice  our  National  race, 
the  American  Merino,  for  a  coarser  breed  or  a  mongrel  make- 
shift, ought  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  Merino  furnishes,  and  in 
the  long  run  will  continue  to  furnish,  ninety  per  cent  or  more 
of  the  wool  required  for  the  clothing  of  the  American  people ! 
All  the  British  wool  that  will  ever  be  grown  in  the  United 
States  would  sew  but  a  brilliant  patch  of  color  upon  the  Merino 
fabric  of  this  Nation.  In  the  markets  of  a  cultivated  people  the 
coarse,  showy  cloths  manufactured  from  British  wools  can  not 
permanently  or  long  compete  with  the  dainty,  soft,  fur-like 
flannels  which  the  Merino  yields. 

Hon.  John  L.  Hayes,  speaking  to  the  wool-growers  at  Pliil- 
adelphia,  said  :  ' '  By  making  your  sheep  fat  in  the  shortest  pos- 
sible time,  which  you  can  do  best  with  the  English  races,  and 
killing  them  as  soon  as  they  are  mature,  you  make  the  best  and 
soundest  wool.  It  will  not  only  be  young,  but  healthy  ;  it  will 
have  no  tender  places  in  it.  Aiming  for  the  best  mutton,  you 
wfll  be  certain  to  get  the  best  wool,  which  will  always  sell,  no 
matter  what  race  it  belongs  to." 

There  is  some  confusion  of  logic  here,  and  a  statement  only 
true  in  a  general  way  ;  but  the  converse  proposition  is  equally 
true  ;  that  the  farmer  who  produces  the  best  wool  (a  three-inch, 
fine  delaine  staple,  true  and  sound,  and  uniformly  distributed 
over  the  surface  of  a  rather  plain  sheep),  will  develop  also  the 
best  mutton. 

The  watch-ciy  comes  fitfully  over  from  Great  Britain  to  the 
American  flock-master,  that  he  must  make  wool  the  collateral 
product.  It  is  a  mischievous  maxim.  With  the  overworked 
and  underfed  millions  of  an  old  civilization,  "what  ye  shall 
eat  "  is  of  prime  consequence  ;  but  in  this  new  empire  of  ours, 
still  in  the  pride  and  strength  of  youth,  the  people  have  money 
to  buy  the  wherewithal  they  may  be  clothed. 

The  spring  lamb  which  feeds  the  gentleman,  clothes  the  hod- 


82  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

carrier  in  Kersey  or  jeans,  and  we  can  not  develop  it  to  any- 
thing better  ;  but  the  gentleman,  after  he  has  obtained  his 
broadcloth  from  the  Merino,  would  relegate  the  carcass  to  the 
hod-carrier.  In  other  words,  the  British  sheep  caters  to  the 
two  extremes  of  a  dense  population,  wealth  and  abject  poverty  ; 
but  the  Merino  ministers  to  that  independent  class  which  is  the 
boast  of  our  country. 

Our  factories  are  rapidly  acquiring  the  secrets  of  peculiar  and 
popular  foreign  styles  and  fabrics,  and  even  improving  upon 
them,  and  inventing  new  processes  and  textures.  Fancy  cas- 
simeres  were,  until  recent  times,  of  foreign  production.  Now 
the  world-famous  establishments  of  Sedan  and  Elboeuf  are 
equaled  or  distanced.  A  bit  of  M.  Boujeon's  goods,  taken  from 
the  inside  of  the  collar  of  an  overcoat  worn  by  a  gentleman  from 
Paris,  was  the  inspiration  of  the  Crampton  loom  on  which 
fancy  cassimeres  are  now  woven,  not  only  in  the  United  States, 
but  also  in  several  countries  of  Europe.  These  goods  were  at 
the  Centennial  Exhibition,  and  the  Swedish  judge,  Mr.  Carl 
Amberg,  a  practical  manufacturer,  in  his  admiration,  said  to 
Hon.  John  L.  Hayes  :  *' You  know  that  the  best  fancy  cassi- 
meres in  the  world  have  been  made  at  Sedan  and  Elboeuf,  in 
France.  If  these  goods  were  placed  by  the  side  of  the  Elboeuf 
cassimeres,  you  could  not  tell  one  from  the  other  ;  and  the  goods 
could  not  be  bought  at  Elboeuf  for  the  prices  marked  here." 
These  goods  were  made  from  American  Merino  wool. 

The  worsted  coatings,  differing  from  the  fancy  cassimeres  in 
being  made  from  combed,  instead  of  carded  wool,  are  a  recent 
triumph  of  our  manufacturing  skill ;  they  obtained  distinction 
at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867.  As  an  incidental  result  of  this, 
another  industry  has  been  created,  the  combing  and  spinning 
of  worsted  yarns.  Of  these  an  exhibition  was  made  at  Phila- 
delphia, by  companies  representing  $1,500,000  of  annual  pro- 
duction ;  and  they  obtained  an  award  showing  them  to  be 
superior  to  yarns  from  the  best  Australian  wools,  being  "  kinder, 
more  elastic  and  stronger." 

In  flannels,  America  has  already  surpassed  Europe,  because 
tlie  goods  are  as  well  made  and  of  better  material.  For  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  European  flannels  have  been  driven  from  our  mar- 
kets, and  we  now  export  them  to  Canada.  The  yarns  from  these 
flannels  are  more  closely  twisted,  the  fabric  shrinks  less,  and  it 
is  more  highly  finished  and  smoother  in  face.  Even  opera  flan- 
nels are  now  made  here  from  American  Merino  wool,  which  are 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  83 

softer  than  those  manufactured  from  Australian  fleece.  Com- 
mendable progress  has  been  made  in  competition  with  France, 
in  the  finer  styles  of  ladies'  dress  goods,  such  as  delaines,  serges 
and  merinos. 

I  addressed  a  number  of  questions  to  a  prominent  manufact- 
urer and  expert  of  Conshohocken,  Pa.,  to  which  he  replied  under 
date  of  May  6,  1883  : 

u  *  *  ^  'pjjQ  Australian  wool  is  finer  in  blood  than  our 
American  Merino  wool,  but  it  is  not  as  strong,  and  for  all  pur- 
poses I  would  prefer  our  high-blood  American  Merino  wool, 
making  a  stronger  thread  ;  and  for  nearly  all  goods  made,  would 
give  the  American  Merino  the  preference  to  Australian  at  same 
price.  If  we  could  get  the  farmers  to  be  more  careful  in  putting 
up  their  wool,  free  from  trash  and  other  refuse  stuff,  [it]  would 
bring  a  better  price.  We  can  now  purchase  Australian  wool  at 
seventy-five  cents  for  the  scoured  pound,  which  to  the  American 
manufacturer  comes  much  cheaper  than  the  American  Merino 
wool,  being  free  from  heavy  string,  and  containing  no  trash 
whatever.  My  own  experience  is,  that  Australian  wool  is  much 
finer,  and  varies  in  staple  and  soundness  ;  and  I  would  prefer  for 
our  use  the  choice,  fine,  high-blooded  Ohio  Merino  to  the  Aus- 
tralian, on  account  of  its  strength,  and  making  a  much  stronger 
yarn." 

Granting  always  that  there  are  sometimes  conditions  of  soil, 
climate  and  market,  in  which  the  British  breeds  would  be  more 
profitable,  as  a  specialty,  than  the  Merino,  let  us  consider  the 
latter  as  one  of  the  by-products  of  the  farm.  For,  in  all  the 
region  east  of  the  Mississippi,  it  is  chiefly  as  a  factor  in  diversi- 
fied farming  that  the  American  Merino  will  fill  the  measure  of 
its  great  possibilities.  As  an  element  of  average  mixed  farming, 
a  few  choice  high-grade  or  pure-blood  Merinos  could  be  kept  at 
a  profit  on  land  worth  two  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  whereas,  if 
kept  to  the  exclusion  of  other  farm-products,  they  might  be  un- 
profitable on  land  worth  over  twenty-five  dollars  an  acre. 

Rejecting  all  conjectural  statistics,  I  will  give  some  well- 
attested,  actual  experience.  I  condense  the  following  from  the 
American  Sheep-Breeder : 

••Mr.  T.  W.  W.  Sunman,  of  Spades,  Indiana,  Nov.  1,  1878, 
weighed  six  Merino  ewes,  aggregating  five  hundred  and  ten 
pounds,  or  eighty-five  pounds  each,  and  put  them  by  themselves 
in  a  yard  containing  a  good  sheep-house,  where  they  were  strictly 
confined  during  the  winter.     They  received  timothy  and  clover 


84  THE    AMERICAN    MERII^O 

hay,  mixed,  and  cut  three-quarter-inch  long ;  of  this  they  had 
all  they  would  eat,  weighed  out  every  day.  They  never  ex- 
ceeded eleven  pounds  a  day,  a  trifle  under  two  pounds  apiece.  In 
addition  they  received  a  quart  apiece  of  ground  feed,  consisting 
of  one-quarter  oats,  one-quarter  corn,  and  one-half  wheat-bran. 
They  were  kept  on  dry  feed  from  Nov.  1  to  March  15,  and  from 
that  to  May  1,  on  green  rye.  As  the  rye  which  they  grazed, 
when  cut  and  threshed,  yielded  as  much  grain  as  that  part  on 
which  no  sheep  were  kept,  they  were  charged  nothing  for  this 
six  weeks'  grazing.  From  May  until  late  in  October,  the  six  ewes 
and  their  five  lambs,  grazed  on  a  single  acre  of  well-set  pasture, 
containing  good  shade  and  water,  for  which  they  were  charged 
forty  cents  apiece  for  the  season. 

DEBIT. 


Six  ewes  @  $"10 $60.00 

Three-quarter-ton  hay 7.50 

Seven  hundied  and  twenty  pounds  ground  feed 7.20 

Six  months'  pasture 2.40 

Salt 25 


Total 677.35 

CREDIT. 

Six  ewes  @  $9.00 $54.00 

Eishtv-four  pounds  vf ool  @  28  cents 23.53 

Five  lambs  @  §2.50 l:i.50 


Total 890.02 

Profit ei2.67 

Another  case  I  will  cite  out  of  my  own  experience.  In  1882, 
I  purchased  eleven  pure-blood  ewes  for  two  hundred  dollars. 
The  first  winter  they  slept  in  a  partitioned  corner  of  the  sheep- 
house,  in  which  they  were  confined  at  night ;  while  by  day, 
except  in  stormy  weather,  they  ranged  in  a  coru-stubblo,  from 
which  thoy  picked  up  the  greater  part  of  their  living.  They 
received  one  ear  of  corn  per  head  per  day.  One  hundred  average 
ears  yield  a  busliel  of  shelled  corn.  Thus  they  consumed,  in  five 
months,  fifteen  bushels  of  corn.  In  addition  to  the  corn,  the}' 
received  during  the  winter,  one-half  ton  of  hay,  mostly  timothy. 
During  tlio  summer  they  pastured  iu  an  extremely  rough  piece  of 
land,  part  orchard,  pnrt  locust  grove.  The  apples  from  the 
orcliard  paid  for  the  use  of  tlie  ground.  The  second  winter  was 
more  severe;  and  they  co:.c::m"il,  with  the  same  amount  of  corn. 


FOR   WOOL    AND    MCTTOlsr.  85 

tweu'v-^tvo  hundred  pounds  of  hay.     We  have,  then,  the  follow- 
ing accouiiu  (one  ewe  having  died) : 

DEBIT. 

Elevej  ewes §200.00 

Twer,  y-se veil  hundred  pounds  hay 13.50 

Thirty  bushels  corn 12.00 

Salt 50 

Total $2..5.U0 

CREDIT. 

Ten  ewes ?140.no 

Twen ty  lambs 50.00 

One  hundred  and  eleven  lbs.  wool  @  20  cents 2J.20 

Two  hundred  and  live  lbs.  wool  @  32  cents 45.10 

Total S:i57.30 

Pro  tit e  31.30 

It  will  be  seen  Ihrit  I  have  given  the  results  with  the  utmost 
fairness.  A  small  profit  was  made  even  on  sheep  bought  at  the 
"stud-flock "  price  of  twenty  dollars  apiece,  though  their  lambs 
and,  of  course,  the  wool  are  credited  at  only  ordinary  wool-flock 
prices.  Plenty  of  high-grades  could  have  been  purchased  at 
eight  dollars  a  head,  which  would  have  given  equally  good 
fleeces  and  lambs,  worth  as  much  as  the  above,  in  the  estimate. 
At  eight  dollars  a  head  the  profit  for  the  two  years  would  have 
been  forty-one  dollars  and  thirty  cents  ;  for  one  year,  twenty 
dollars  and  sixty-five  cento  ;  or  about  two  dollars  and  fif  iy  cents 
ahead.  This  is  a  clear  profit  more  than  double  the  "average 
annual  revenue  "  from  the  English  sheep  in  his  own  country. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

LAMBING. 

Use  of  the  Sheep-Hook. — Probably  not  one  flock-master  ia 
a  hundred  uses  that  invaluable  labor-saving  implement,  the  shep- 
herd's-crook,  or  sheep-hook.  It  is  surprising  that  practical, 
shrewd,  inventive  Americans  will  take  upon  themselves  3'ear 
after  year  heavy  and  unnecess.'xry  labor,  when  the  sluggish, 
Oriental  shepherd  contrived  a  way  to  escape  it  in  the  earher 
stages  of  nis  art,  by  the  employment  of  the  crook.  Every  ex- 
perienced flock-master  knows  that  unlcso  a  bunch  of  sheep  arc 


8G  THE   AMERICAN"   MERINO 

closely  huddled,  or  quite  tame,  it  is  very  laborious  work  to  catch 
them,  one  by  one,  by  the  hind  legs — for  it  is  an  outrage  to  catch 
thein  by  the  fleece,  which  the  master  should  never  tolerate.  And 
if  it  is  very  tedious  and  tiresome  to  catch  a  hundred  or  more 
stron;^  sheep  when  they  are  crowded  together ;  how  much  more 
so  is  it  to  single  out  and  chase  down  one  after  another  in  a  roomy 
yard,  where  the  master  wants  them  well  scattered,  so  that  he 
can  readily  detect  any  points  or  marks  he  is  looking  for.  He 
wants  them  to  run  by  him,  or  to  go  circling  around  him,  always 
kcepi;ig  them  with  the  painted  side  toward  him,  so  that  he  can 
catch  the  mark  readily. 

Then  again,  when  a  foolish  young  ewe  is  standing  guard  in 
the  field  over  her  first  lamb,  she  faces  the  intruder  constantly 
and  backs  slowly  away,  stamping  and  snufiing,  the  lamb  follow- 
ing her  up  ;  until  finally  in  despair  the  master  makes  a  sudden 
spring,  and  his  fingers  probably  just  graze  the  wool. 

With  a  sheep-hook  in  his  hand,  his  task  is  greatly  lessened  and 
simplified.  If  the  ewe  is  to  be  caught  in  the  sheep-house,  it  is 
barbarous  to  create  an  uproar  and  set  all  the  other  ewes  and 
lambs  to  running  about,  trampling  down  the  weakest,  in  a  mad 
chase  after  a  recusant  ewe.  Instead  of  that,  let  him  quietly 
reach  out  the  hook  around  the  corner  or  betw^een  the  slats  of  a 
hay-rack,  and  seize  her  by  the  leg — either  a  fore  or  hind-leg — 
preferably  the  latter,  and  no  disturbance  is  created.  I  have  sel- 
dom failed  to  capture  the  wildest  ewe  in  a  twenty-acre  field, 
with  the  hook,  at  the  first  pass.  There  is  no  bending  of  the 
back  ;  no  foundation  laid  for  rheumatism  in  after  years. 

Deftness  with  the  hook,  of  course,  can  be  acquired  only  by 
practice.  It  is  best  to  let  the  sheep  which  is  to  be  caught  get 
somewhat  disentangled  from  the  others,  then  thrust  out  the 
hook  and  clap  it  on  the  leg  just  above  the  hock-joint,  where  the 
sheep  can  not  readily  kick  it  off".  Draw  it  carefully  back,  and  at 
the  same  time  lift  upward  to  keep  the  hook  in  its  place. 

"When  the  sheep  is  within  reach,  seize  it  by  the  hind-leg,  or 
throw  an  arm  around  in  front  of  the  brisket.  The  gentleness 
and  even  tenderness  with  which  the  fancy  breeder  lays  hold  of 
his  show-sheep  in  the  pen,  sets  it  on  its  rump  for  inspection, 
then  assists  it  to  its  feet  without  allowing  it  to  struggle,  and 
carefully  brushes  the  dirt  off  the  fleece  and  straightens  out  the 
disordered  locks,  may  seem  to  some  bordering  on  the  senti- 
mental ;  but  it  puts  to  shame  the  barbarous  roughness  of  the 
novic(\  If  a  sheep  is  to  bi>  lifted  and  laid  on  its  side  or  carried, 
it  may  be  taken  up  with  the  left  arm  under  the  neck,  and  the 


FOR  WOOL   AND   3IUTT0>;r.  87 

right  arm  grasping  the  right  flank  (not  by  the  wool) ;  or  with 
both  hands  joined  under  the  brisket,  the  animal  being  held 
perpendicularly,  or  with  the  left  arm  around  the  brisket  and 
the  right  between  the  hind-legs. 

Making  A  Hook — Any  blacksmith  of  ordinary  "rumble- 
guraption  "  can  make  one.  Take  a  five-sixteenth-inch  rod  of 
spring  steel,  weld  it  to  the  socket  of  an  old  hoe-handle,  for  the 
insertion  of  the  handle  ;  bend  it  into  a  hook,  as  figure.d  here- 


Fi2:.  7.— CROOK. 


o 


with,  about  four  inches  long,  an  inch  wide  on  the  inside  at  the 
bulge,  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  wide  at  the  neck  (to  spring  open 
and  close  again  on  the  leg) :  flatten  it  at  the  point,  and  turn  it 
out  one-half  inch  or  so,  and  back  with  a  roll  or  a  knob  to  pre- 
vent laceration.     Insert  a  wooden  handle  six  or  seven  feet  long. 

Fixtures  and  Preparations.— One  of  the  most  necessary 
fixtures  about  the  sheep-house  in  lambing-time,  is  a  set  of 
portable  panels  for  the  construction  of  pens  for  milkless  ewes. 
These  panels  should  be  about  four  feet  high,  by  three  feet  long  ; 
they  may  be  made  of  light  lath,  with  spaces  narrow  enough  to 
prevent  the  passage  of  lambs  ;  or,  better  still,  closed  up  entirely 
near  the  bottom,  to  prevent  the  lamb  from  seeing  and  smelling 
ewes  outside  of  the  pen.  These  panels  can  be  tied  together  at 
the  comers  with  twine  to  form  enclosures.  They  are  better 
than  permanent  boxes  or  pens,  as  they  are  not  needed  except  m 
lambing  time,  and  are  more  easily  laid  away  than  boxes. 

It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the  ewes  occupy  a  stable,  more  or 
less,  during  this  critical  season  ;  the  size  and  arrangement  of 
this  will  be  considered  elsewhere.  All  crannies  and  crevices 
ought  to  be  stopped  before  lambs  begin  to  arrive  ;  a  very  young 
lamb,  attracted  by  the  light,  perhaps,  or  moved  by  that  instinct 
which  teaches  it  to  seek  refuge  and  warmth,  is  very  apt  to 
wedge  itself  into  a  narrow  place  and  get  chilled.  If  the  build- 
ing has  stone  foundations — which  are  objectionable  for  this  rea- 
son— they  ought  to  be  covered  deep  with  litter ;  a  lamb,  while 
still  damp,  is  almost  certain  to  lie  down  on  the  stone  and 
become  fatally  chilled. 


88  THE    AMERICAN    MERIXO 

General  Management. — When  a  rain  is  coming  on,  look  out 
for  a  shower  of  lambs  ;  a  falling  barometer  generally  portends 
an  increased  activity  in  the  sheep-stable,  and  indicates  the 
necessity  of  greater  watchfulness.  The  first  thing  in  the  morn- 
ing, of  course,  the  shepherd  will  go  through  the  stable  and  look 
carefully  for  newly  dropped  lambs.  As  soon  as  convenient,  the 
doors  ought  to  be  opened  and  the  flock  allowed  to  drift  leisurely 
out  into  a  yard  (not  to  receive  feed,  as  then  they  will  rush  out 
too  rapidlj'),  to  allow  the  ewes  with  lambs  dropped  during  the 
night,  to  become  separated  from  the  others.  If  any  irregularity 
appears,  if  any  ewes  have  abandoned  their  young,  careful 
search  must  be  made  through  the  flock  for  those  which  give 
indications  of  having  been  recently  parturient.  There  may  be 
twins  ;  they  may  bs  separated  ;  one  may  have  been  adopted  by 
a  strange  ewe,  herself  on  the  point  of  yeaning,  and  she  rnay 
now  be  paying  attention  both  to  the  stranger  and  her  own 
lamb  ;  or  she  may  (such  is  the  extraordinary  stupidity  of  which 
young  Merino  ewes  are  capable),  even  have  neglected  her  own 
lamb  in  her  devotion  to  the  one  previously  adopted. 

When  a  ewe  is  seen  to  remain  apart  and  take  no  notice  of 
the  flock  for  two  or  three  hours,  she  ought  to  be  gently  caught 
and  examined.  Young  Merino  ewes  are  apt  to  be  troubled  by 
a  retention  of  the  foetus,  which  may  be  due  to  several  causes  : 
Scirrhous  os  uteri,  firm  adherence  and  abnormal  conditions  of 
placenta  and  uterus,  loss  of  power  of  expulsion  by  the  uterus, 
paralysis,  deformities,  torsion  of  the  uterus,  and  others.  The 
first  of  these  causes  is  most  likely  to  be  present,  and  it  may  in- 
duce a  labor  so  protracted  as  to  make  the  ewe  disown  her  lamb. 
Let  the  operator,  having  laid  the  ewe  carefully  on  the  left 
side,  sit  at  her  back,  and  with  the  forefinger  of  the  right  hand, 
feel  for  the  foetus  per  vaginam.  He  should  rest  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  the  f ore-f e^t,  or  head,  or  both.  If  this  can  not 
be  had,  the  mouth  of  the  womb  is  evidently  closed,  but  a  patient 
search  will  seldom  fail  to  reveal  a  very  small  and  tightly  corded 
orifice.  If  this  can  not  be  discovered,  one  must  be  fretted  away 
with  the  finger-nail,  or  with  the  point  of  a  knife-blade  closely 
pressed  against  the  finger.  After  this  has  been  gradually  en- 
larged so  as  to  admit  one  finger,  a  second  finger  may  be  inserted, 
then  a  third. 

Delivery  can  be  successfully  accomplished  in  three  cases  : 
First,  when  there  is  a  presentation  of  the  hind-feet ;  second,  of 
the  head  and  f(v.'e-feet ;  third,  of  the  head  with  one  or  both  of 
the  fore-legs  doubled  back,  though  in  this  case  the  labor  is 


FOR   WOOL   AN^D   MUTTOl^.  89 

difficult.  All  other  presentations  must  be  corrected  ;  some  per- 
son with  a  small  hand  should  thrust  the  foetus  back  and  en- 
deavor to  turn  it  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  bring  on  one  of  the 
above  presentations,  preferably  that  of  the  head  and  two  fore- 
feet. Such  interference  as  this  is  risky,  still  it  is  always  best  to 
resort  to  it  promptly,  as  soon  as  it  is  ascertained  that  there  is  a 
false  presentation,  for  protracted  labor  is  apt  to  result  in  the 
strangulation  of  the  lamb  and  the  e version  of  the  uterus.  More 
than  that,  it  frequently  disheartens  the  ewe,  and  makes  her  in- 
different to  the  lamb.  From  the  time  the  head  distinctly  emerges 
from  the  mouth  of  the  womb,  the  labor-pains  may  be  so  assisted 
by  the  operator  as  to  complete  the  delivery  in  twenty  minutes. 

With  the  fore-finger  hooked  in  the  under  side  of  the  jaw,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  hand  grasping  the  fore-legs,  the  operator 
may  draw  gently,  in  unison  with  the  pains,  gradually  increas- 
ing the  draught.  If  the  pulling  is  distributed  equally  between 
the  legs  and  the  jaw,  it  may  reach  twenty  or  twenty-five  pounds 
without  injury  to  either  ewe  or  lamb.  It  is  far  better  to  employ 
whatever  force  may  be  necessary,  even  to  the  fracture  of  the 
lower  jaw  (this  may  occur,  and  yet  the  lamb  survive  and  re- 
cover), than  to  allow  the  ewe  to  linger  for  hours  in  agony,  in  a 
hopeless  effort  to  expel  the  foetus  from  a  womb  which  has 
an  insufficient  exit,  or  none  at  all. 

After  the  lamb  has  di-awn  a  few  breaths,  the  umbilical  cord 
may  be  severed  a  foot  or  more  from  the  lamb,  which  should 
then  be  laid  under  the  ewe's  nose.  If  she  falls  to  licking  it,  all 
well ;  but  if  the  parturition  has  been  too  painful,  she  may  take 
no  notice  of  the  lamb.  Bat  if  confined  with  it  in  a  very  small 
ptn,  where  she  can  see  no  other  sheep,  she  will  generally  own  it 
in  a  few  hours. 

Foster  Mothers,  Substitution,  Etc. — When  a  good  milker 
loses  her  iamb,  her  services  are  not  necessarily  lost ;  there  are 
various  ways  of  rendering  her  useful  in  the  flock.  If  she  is 
extremely  attached  to  her  lamb,  and  lingers  about  its  dead  body, 
she  may  be  made  to  adopt  a  stranger  by  clothing  it  in  the  skin 
of  her  own,  but  this  ruse  will  not  deceive  a  sharp  ewe.  Let  the 
skin  be  taken  off  without  the  head,  but  with  the  fore-legs  to 
serve  as  sleeves,  and  with  the  tail,  for  it  is  at  the  root  of  the  tail 
that  the  mother  always  seeks  the  scent  by  which  she  recognizes 
her  offspring.  The  skin  should  be  removed  within  twenty-four 
hours,  else  it  will  putrefy  and  sicken  the  lamb. 

A  ewo  may  be  induced  to  adopt  almost  anything  if,  immedi- 
ately after  parturition,  her  own  lamb  is  taken  away  before  she 


90  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

smells  it,  and  another,  after  being  rubbed  in  her  liquor  amnii, 
is  laid  under  her  nose.  A  little  salt  rubbed  about  the  rump  may 
persuade  her  to  fall  to  licking  it,  and  thus  develop  a  fondness 
for  it.  But  all  these  substitutions  are  extremely  hazardous; 
the  master  m.ay  have  to  keep  the  foster-mother  alone  with  the 
lamb,  and  contend  with  her  for  weeks,  whipping,  scaring  her 
with  the  shepherd  dog,  etc.,  to  accomplish  the  desired  result. 
If  a  ewe  owns  her  lamb  at  all,  and  has  milk,  however  little, 
with  a  prospect  of  giving  more,  it  is  far  better  to  leave  the  lamb 
with  her  and  supplement  her  supply  with  the  bottle.  A  lamb 
once  taken  away  from  the  mother  is  a  source  of  infinite  "pot- 
tering." 

Eesuscitation  of  Chilled  Lambs. — It  is  surprising  to  the 
novice,  how  near  death  a  lamb  may  pass  and  yet  be  brought 
back  by  the  help  of  man.     if  the  thumb  and  fingers  tightly 
clasped  on  each  side  of  the  chest,  discover  the  faintest  throbbing 
of  the  heart,  it  is  worth  while  to  attempt  to  restore  it,  if  the 
lamb  is  a  good  one.     (Even  in  a  well-bred  flock  there  are  some- 
times lambs  so  puny  and  flaccid— generally  covered  with  min- 
ute pellets  of  wool,  tightly  curled  down,  plainly  repealing  the 
skin  and  prophesying  a  poor  shearer — that  they  are  not  worth 
much  exertion).     The  quickest  way,  and  in  extreme  cases,  the 
only  way  to  recover  it  is,  to  plunge  it  up  to  the  neck  into  water 
as  hot  as  the  hand  can  bear.      But  this  should  be  only  a  last 
resort,  for  there  is  great  danger  that  the  water  will  obliterate 
the  scent  at  the  root  of  the  tail  by  which  the  dam  recognizes 
her  own.     For  the  same  reason,  it  is  dangerous  to  carry  the 
Iamb  away  at  all,  especially  if  wrapped  in  malodorous  carpets, 
or  the  like.     It  is  better  to  bring  out  hot  flannels  and  wrap  up 
the  lamb,  leaving  the  head  out  for  the  mother  to  smell  occasion- 
ally.    A  very  good  way,  when  the  case  is  not  desperate,  is  to 
fold  the  legs  neatly,  and  hold  the  lamb  between  the  ewe's  hind- 
legs  until  it  is  warmed  enough  to  suck.     A  lamb  once  severely 
chilled  must  be  closely  watched  for  several  days  afterward  ;  it 
is  liable  to  a  relapse  unless  highly  nourished. 

If  dropped  in  cold  weather,  a  great  many  lambs  would  never 
succeed  in  getting  the  teat,  unless  assisted.  It  is  an  extremely 
vexatious  task  for  one  person  to  attempt  to  hold  a  struggling 
ewe  on  her  feet,  and  teach  a  veiy  young  lamb  to  draw.  It  is 
best  always  to  cut  the  matter  short  by  laying  her  on  her  left 
side,  the  lamb  on  its  right.  Then  with  the  thumb  and  finger  of 
the  left  hand,  hold  the  jaws  apart  and  milk  a  little  into  the 
mouth.     The  taste  of  the  warm  milk  will  generally  induce  it  to 


FOR  WOOL  a:n"d  mutton.  91 

draw,  as  soon  as  the  teat  is  introduced  into  its  mouth.  How- 
ever bright  the  lamb  may  appear,  it  is  never  safe  to  take  any- 
thing whatever  for  granted  as  to  the  estabhshment  of  working 
relations  between  ewe  and  lamb,  unless  the  latter  is  actually 
Been  to  suck. 

Cossets. — It  is  only  a  very  valuable  lamb  that  will  repay  the 
master  for  bringing  it  up  by  hand  himself,  and  the  hired  help 
or  the  children  will  generally  feed  it  so  injudiciously  through 
the  summer,  as  to  render  it  nearly  worthless.  I  make  it  a  rule 
of  my  flock,  whether  a  lamb  is  to  be  reared  by  hand  or  not,  that 
it  shall  not  receive  anything  whatever  but  fresh  ewe's  milk  into 
its  stomach  for  the  first  day ;  and  the  longer  cow's  milk  can  be 
withheld,  the  better.  If  no  fresh  ewe  has  a  supply  to  spare,  I 
m^ake  no  scruple  to  draw  on  one  that  soon  will  be  fresh.  Cow's 
milk  is  too  constipating,  especially  if  not  fresh.  Constipation 
is  at  best  the  greatest  bane  of  the  young  lamb's  life,  and  it  is 
well  to  allow  the  cosset,  once  a  day,  for  a  week  or  two,  to  have 
its  fiU  of  the  freshest  ewe's  milk  obtainable.  If  a  young  lamb 
is  fed  a  few  times  with  a  teaspoon,  it  may  be  taught  to  suck  a 
leather  in  the  bottom  of  the  trough,  and  thus  much  trouble  be 
avoided ;  but  some  are  obstinate  and  must  have  the  bottle. 
Sucking  is  better  than  drinking ;  it  is  slower,  and  causes  a 
freer  secretion  of  saliva. 

A  Good  Practical  System.— Mr.  Geo.  S.  Coi-p,  of  Morgan 
County,  Ohio,  in  the  fall  removes  the  first  sixty  ewes  served, 
keeping  them  separate.  Eight  or  ten  in  every  flock  of  sixty 
will  "  miss  "  at  the  first  service.  In  two  weeks  after  the  service 
begins,  he  puts  ' '  teasers  "  into  the  flock  every  day,  as  he  brings 
them  in,  to  discover  those  that  require  a  second  service  ;  and 
these  are  drafted  into  the  second  division  of  sixty.  So  with  the 
second  division,  and  the  third,  etc.  Thus,  when  the  season  is 
ended,  he  has  the  divisions  composed  of  about  fifty  each,  which 
is  the  largest  number  he  wishes  to  have  in  one  flock. 

When  lambing  comes  on,  one  division  at  a  time  requires 
attention  ;  the  first  and  the  last  dates  of  service  are  recorded,  so 
it  is  known  when  each  division  is  done  with.  Bulletin  boards 
hung  on  the  wall  have  slips  of  paper  pasted  or  tacked  on  them 
for  "  lamb  records,"  showing  date  of  birth,  sire  and  dam  of 
each.  This  lamb  record  is  to  be  returned  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Ohio  Register,  of  which  Mr.  C.  is  a  member. 

Not  satisfied  with  providing  lamb  pens  for  ewes  that  disown 
their  lambs,  he  has  enough  to  hold  every  lamb  that  will  be 


92  THE    A.MEEICAN   MERINO 

dropped  in  two  days  or  more.  They  are  thirty-three  in  num- 
ber, in  two  barns,  ranged  along  the  two  opposite  sides,  about 
four  feet  square,  made  of  plasterer's  lath,  each  with  a  little 
hinged  door,  hay  rack  and  feed  box.  The  building,  which  may 
be  called  the  nursery,  has  a  row  of  these  on  two  sides  of  it,  the 
row  on  the  warmest  side  of  the  house  having  a  stove  about  the 
middle  of  it.  This  stove  is  fenced  about  with  lath.  There  are 
cages  of  different  sizes,  some  only  half  as  large  as  a  mocking- 
bird's cage.  These  are  furnished  with  handles  and  may  be  set 
on  top  of  the  pens  or  anywhere  else  near  the  stove.  Lambs  shut 
in  them  will  be  dried  and  warmed,  and  they  can  not  wander 
off,  as  they  liave  a  propensity  to  do  if  not  restrained,  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  get  warm  and  limber. 

Now  this  row  of  lamb  pens  on  one  side  of  the  house  (they  are 
permanent)  might  be  labeled  milk  ;  that  on  the  other  side,  NO 
MILK,  though  this  is  not  actually  done.  When  a  lamb  is  stout 
and  the  ewe  has  milk,  both  are  put  at  once  into  one  of  the  pens 
on  the  "  milk  "  side  ;  when  the  ew^e  has  no  milk  or  the  lamb  is 
weak  aud  needs  help,  both  are  put  at  once  into  a  pen  on  the 
"  no  milk  "  side.  This  saves  the  shepherd  considerable  trouble. 
When  he  comes  into  the  stable  with  a  bottle  of  warm  cow's 
milk  he  does  not  have  to  pudder  about,  catching  this  ewe  and 
that  to  see  whether  she  has  a  supply  of  milk  ;  he  simply  takes 
the  row  as  it  comes.  Sometimes  the  ewe's  milk  will  "come" 
in  six  hours,  sometimes  in  twelve,  sometimes  in  thirty-six  ;  in 
a  very  rare  case  it  never  comes.  In  the  interval  of  waiting,  the 
lamb  and  the  ewe  require  gentle  and  patient  care  and  liberal 
feeding.  As  fast  as  lambs  gain  strength  enough  to  go  alone, 
they  and  their  dams  are  removed  to  a  separate  flock  until  the 
limit  of  fifty  is  reached,  when  still  another  flock  is  started,  etc. 

The  bran  boxes  in  the  pens  are  about  six  inches  square  and  an 
inch  deep— a  lath  forms  the  sides — and  are  tacked  on  the  top  of 
the  sill.  The  hay  racks  are  also  made  of  plasterer's  lath,  against 
the  wall,  having  a  depth  a  little  greater  than  the  width  of  the 
sill. 

After  trying  the  patent  rubber  nipples  of  drug  stores,  Mr.  C. 
threw  them  aside  and  made  a  little  plug  of  soft  poplar,  with  a 
bore  about  the  size  of  a  small  wheat  straw.  At  first  he  attached 
a  cloth  to  this,  but  he  presently  found  that  the  lamb  would  suck 
it  as  well  without  the  cloth.     He  now  uses  this  altogether. 

He  has  two  or  three  "lamb  creeps"  in  different  parts  of  the 
building.  One  of  these  is  formed  by  a  board  placed  high  enough 
to  allow  a  lamb  to  pass  under,  but  too  low  for  a  sheep.  Another 


FOR  WOOL   AKD   MUTTOlsr.  93 

has  its  entrance  through  a  little  hinged  doer,  which  is  propped 
open  wide  enough  to  admit  a  lamb,  but  it  will  catch  a  sheep  by 
the  shoulder.  In  these  pens  he  has  little  troughs  containing 
bran  or  ground  feed  for  the  special  beneft  of  the  lambs. 

Whether  lambs  are  droj)ped  in  February  or  April,  whether 
they  are  grown  for  wool  or  mutton,  it  is  of  immense  importance 
to  keep  them  growing  rapidly.  They  will,  in  ten  days,  take 
more  than  their  mother's  milk,  and  the  little  feed  bestowed  in  this 
way  wiU  prove  to  be  the  best  investment  the  flock-master  can 
make.  They  can  be  weaned  a  month  or  six  weeks  sooner,  if 
fed  this  way,  and  still  be  as  large  as  usual,  if  not  larger.  This 
gives  the  ewes  more  time  to  rest  and  recuperate,  and  the  added 
growth  and  strength  of  the  lambs  are  a  wonderful  protection 
against  parasitic  diseases. 

Feeding  with  Cow's  Milk.— It  is  sometimes  desirable,  where 
young  lambs  are  fed  with  cow's  milk  to  keep  milk  warm  for 
some  length  of  time.  This  can  be  easily  accomplished  by  hav- 
ing a  double  tin  can  made,  leaving  a  space  of  an  inch  between 
the  outer  and  inner  walls  which  can  be  filled  with  sand.  The 
top  and  bottom  should  be  soldered  securely  to  both  walls  after 
putting  in  the  sand.  A  tube  an  inch  long  must  be  placed  on 
top  and  open  into  the  inner  cavity  where  the  milk  is  put.  Once 
warm  the  sand,  and  it  will  keep  the  milk  wami  for  some  hours. 

Lambs  fed  on  cow's  milk,  like  those  whose  mothers  receive 
only  corn  and  hay,  are  very  prone  to  constipation,  which  is  the 
greatest  pest  the  shepherd  has  to  contend  with. 

1.  Never  feed  with  cow's  milk,  if  possible  to  avoid  it.  If 
used,  let  it  be  fresh,  diluted  one-third  its  bulk  with  water,  and 
weU  sweetened  with  pure,  white  sugar. 

2.  If  fed  every  horn*  or  two,  after  the  first  three  or  four  feeds, 
it  is  not  easy  to  give  a  lamb  too  much.  Lambs  are  oftener 
starved  to  death  than  over-fed. 

3.  If  constipation  has  already  set  in,  do  not  dose  the  lamb 
with  black  molasses,  magnesia,  lard  or  the  like.  Give  it  an  in- 
jection with  a  bulb-syringe,  very  gently,  with  blood-warm 
water,  first  oiling  the  tube  with  castor-oil.  If  necessary,  repeat 
the  operation. 

But  all  the  nostrums,  laxatives,  injection-pipes,  and  what 
not,  fall  immeasurably  behind  grass-made  milk  in  value  as  pre- 
ventives of  constipation.    , 

Diseases  of  Lambs. — This  remark  as  to  grass  leads  to  a  men- 
tion of  the  so-called  "  lamb  cholera" — a  clear  misnomer,  since 
the  malady  has  been  distinctly  shown  to  be  non-epizootic.     It 


94  THE   AMERICAN   MERIJ^^O 

generally  attacks  the  finest,  fattest  lambs  of  the  flock  ;  indeed, 
almost  the  only  strictly  safe  generalizaf ion  which  may  be  made 
on  its  causes  is,  that  it  does  not  assail  an  under-fed  flock,  or  a 
fiock  ranging  on  the  sweet  grasses,  and  the  clear,  running 
waters  of  a  hilly  country.  For  this  reason,  Southern  Ohio  has 
been  almost  exempt  from  its  ravages,  and  I  am  chiefly  indebted 
for  information  to  observers  living  on  the  flatter,  sourer  lands 
of  Northern  Ohio,  among  whom  I  may  mention  Capt.  J.  G. 
Blue,  of  Morrow  County ;  Mr.  William  Cattell,  of  Columbiana 
County  ;  and  Mr.  G.  W.  Hervey,  of  Jefferson  County. 

The  lamb  is  taken  very  suddenly  and  violently  ;  falls  on  the 
ground  in  a  tremor,  with  spasmodic  kicks  ;  sometimes  froths  at 
the  mouth  and  throws  the  head  back,  further  and  further  every 
minute,  until  finally  it  almost  rests  on  the  shoulders  ;  the  eyes 
are  rolled  up  and  have  a  fixed,  staring  look.  Death  usually 
ensues  in  a  few  minutes,  and  dissection  reveals  ' '  the  first  stom- 
ach full  of  cakes  of  curd  ;  the  lungs  seemed  full  of  blood,  and 
just  inside  the  rectum  was  a  shmy,  watery  appearance,  with 
considerable  wind.  No  diarrhea  apparent  in  those ;  but  I 
noticed  in  some  a  discharge  like  diarrhea,  after  they  were  sick, 
but  before  they  died."  I  never  lost  but  one  lamb  from  this 
disease,  a  hand-fed  pet ;  it  had  the  above  symptoms,  and  its 
stomach  was  very  acid  and  tightly  distended  with  gas. 

As  with  all  ailments  to  which  the  sheep  is  liable,  prevention 
is  a  hundred  per  cent  better  than  cure  ;  but  in  this  case  the 
preventive  measures  must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  ewes. 
One  excellent,  practical  shepherd  recommends  to  take  a  half- 
gallon  of  tar,  mix  into  it  all  the  salt  it  will  hold  together,  and 
smear  the  salt-troughs  with  it,  withholding  all  other  salt,  so 
as  to  compel  the  flock  to  lick  this.  The  lambs  will  soon  learn 
to  partake  with  their  dams.  Another  recommends  grain  and 
dry  feed  to  correct  the  flatulency  and  acidity  of  the  stomach. 
Better  than  either,  perhaps,  is  sharp  wood  ashes,  or  lime,  well 
mixed  in  the  salt,  say  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  lime  to  ten 
of  salt. 

If  the  lamb  is  seen  as  soon  as  attacked,  and  the  shepherd  is 
skilled  in  drenching,  so  that  he  can  perform  the  operation  with- 
out strangling  the  animal — of  which  there  is  great  danger, 
especially  when  it  is  unable  to  swallow  readily — let  him  admin- 
ister an  ounce  of  Epsom  salts  in  a  teacup  full  of  warm  water  ;  it 
may  save  its  life.  Or,  put  a  lump  of  tar,  as  large  as  a  hickory 
nut,  well  back  on  the  base  of  the  tongue,  and  shut  the  mouth 
and  hold  it  closed  to  compel  it  to  swallow. 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOJf.  95 

Excess  of  Milk. — When  the  ewes  are  on  a  full  feed  of  grass, 
it  frequently  happens  that  a  good  milker  will  accuroulate  a 
supply  of  milk  so  large,  as  to  cause  one  or  both  of  the  teats  to 
become  swollen  and  tender.  If  the  lamb  is  vigorous  and  per- 
sistent, it  will  generally  reduce  one  teat  to  use,  but  there  is 
great  danger  that  it  will  rest  content  with  that  one,  and  neglect 
the  other,  which  will  then  speedily  become  useless.  The  milk 
must  be  drawn  gently,  and  the  ewe  confined  on  dry  feed  three 
or  four  days.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  let  her  out  too  soon, 
or  the  operation  will  need  to  be  repeated. 

Fouling. — The  tail  of  a  very  young  lamb  sometimes  becomes 
so  firmly  glued  to  the  posteriors  by  the  gummy  excrement,  that 
further  defecation  is  rendered  impossible.  The  best  thing  to  do 
is,  to  remove  the  obstruction  and  dock  the  lamb  at  once  ;  but  if, 
on  account  of  warm  weather,  or  for  other  reasons,  it  is  not 
deemed  expedient  to  do  this  at  the  time,  all  the  parts  should  be 
scraped  clean  with  a  cob  and  well  sprinkled  with  road-dust,  or 
something  similar. 


CHAPTER  X. 
CARE  OF  EWES  AND  LAMBS. 

There  is  nothing  within  the  compass  of  the  art  of  man  which 
will  promote  a  flow  of  milk  so  well  as  grass  ;  and  there  is  noth- 
ing else  which  will  set  a  lamb  up  on  its  legs  as  well  as  a  supply 
of  grass-made  milk.  In  the  pastoral  states,  grass  must  neces- 
sarily be  the  main  dependence  of  the  shepherd  ;  but  in  the  older 
East,  the  pressure  of  other  branches  of  spring  work  on  the 
average  farmer  (for  it  is  chiefly  as  a  component  of  diversified 
farming  that  the  Merino  has  an  assured  future  in  the  agricul- 
tural States),  will  probably  always  cause  a  majority  of  northern 
flock-masters  to  have  lambing  over  and  out  of  the  way  before 
much  grass  grows. 

Feed  for  Ewes. — When  a  Merino  ewe  lambs  as  early  as 
February  or  March,  it  is  a  long  time  and  a  hard  task  for  her  to 
make  milk  on  dry  feed  until  grass  comes.     What  little  she  may 


96  THE   AMERICAN"   MERIXO 

make  will  be  constipating ;  there  is  great  danger  that  the  lamb 
will  die  of  costiveness,  after  ten  days  or  two  weeks.  A  guide 
as  to  condition  of  the  suckling  ewe,  is  the  softness  of  the  feeces  ; 
they  should  not  be  in  pellets. 

One  of  the  best  shepherds  of  my  acquaintance,  Mr.  William 
F.  Quinn,  of  Washington  County,  Ohio,  feeds  his  ewes  regu- 
larly, mangels,  cut  and  sprinkled  with  bran.  He  has  tried 
pulping,  but  prefers  to  cut  them  by  hand  into  longish  pieces,  as 
large  as  one's  finger.  Pieces  of  this  shape  are  not  liable  to  cause 
choking.  He  finds  that  his  ewes  take  more  satisfaction  in 
chewing  these  pieces  than  in  gulping  down  like  pigs  a  quan- 
tity of  cold,  watery  mash,  and  are  more  benefited  by  them,  on 
account  of  the  more  perfect  admixture  with  saliva. 

Clover  hay,  bran,  bruised  oats,  bright  corn-fodder,  fodder- 
corn  (if  cured  without  must),  linseed  meal,  cotton-seed  meal 
are  all  excellent.  If  the  ration  is  increased  gi-adually,  there  is 
hardly  any  danger  of  over-feeding  with  any  of  them,  except  tlie 
linseed  and  the  cotton-seed  meal.  There  are  cases  so  well  authen- 
ticated, in  which  linseed  meal  has  produced  abortion,  that  we 
are  not  at  liberty  to  disregard  them.  Still,  I  never  saw  a  case  of 
injury  resulting  from  its  use.  One  of  the  best  practical  shep- 
herds of  my  acquaintance,  Mr.  L,  W.  Skipton,  employs  it  habit- 
ually. To  accustom  his  ewes  to  it,  he  at  first  mixes  it  in  very 
small  proportions  with  wheat  bran,  which  he  generally  wets  into 
a  stiff  slop ;  at  the  outside,  he  never  allows  more  than  a  gill  of 
the  linseed  meal  to  each  sheep.  Probably  most  flock-masters 
would  find  less  trouble  in  teaching  their  sheep  to  eat  it  dry, 
miixed  with  bran. 

But  all  these  dry  feeds,  however  excellent,  do  not  equal  roots 
in  supplying  the  place  of  grass.  And  of  these,  probably,  there 
is  nothing  superior  to  the  white  sugar  beet  for  producing  a  flow 
of  milk.  I  would  name,  in  the  order  of  their  general  availability, 
the  white  sugar  beet,  the  mangel,  the  ruta-baga,  and  the  white 
turnip.  If  no  other  succulent  feed  is  at  hand,  small  potatoes 
and  apples  can  be  given  with  great  advantage. 

If  the  flock  is  small,  it  will  be  better  to  wash  and  slice  the 
roots,  or  pulp  them  in  a  mill  for  the  whole  flock.  If  it  is  large, 
there  will  be  a  majority  of  them  robust,  and  hearty  enough  to 
eat  the  roots  whole,  if  scattered  on  the  hay  orts,  in  the  racks 
where  they  will  be  clean.  The  dainty  ones  can  be  culled  out  in 
the  course  of  a  few  feedimrs  and  placed  in  a  separate  flock  ;  this 
will  reduce  the  labor  of  pulping. 

An  excess  of  cold,  watery  feed  is  injurious  to  pregnant  ewes, 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTON".  97 

as  it  is  likely  to  produce  abortion.     After  parturition  has  taken 
place,  there  is  little  or  no  danger. 

Keeping  the  Stable  Clean.— From  the  succulent  feed,  on 
which  alone  the  shepherd  can  hope  for  a  modicum  of  success 
with  the  breeding  flock,  there  will  be  an  immense  increase  of 
the  exhalations  which  are  so  fatal  to  the  health  of  sheep.  The 
urine  decomposes  and  gives  off  ammonia.  There  is  nothing  so 
abominable  as  a  slippery,  reeking  stable-floor,  from  which  the 
lambs,  slipping  between  the  slats  into  the  hay-racks,  carry  tilth 
upon  the  hay  ;  they  also  discolor  the  ewes'  fleeces  by  gamboling 
upon  them  when  lying  down,  and  they  so  besmear  each  other 
that  they  are  almost  unrecognizable  by  their  own  mothers  !  Nor 
will  it  answer  merely  to  heap  up  litter,  m  the  hope  of  smother- 
ing the  stench.  The  manure  must  be  removed,  clear  down  to 
the  floor — which  should  be  of  earth — every  week,  or  oftener,  if 
the  stench  can  not  be  suppressed  ;  and  the  surface  sprinkled 
with  lime,  if  the  offensive  odor  is  very  persistent.  On  dry  feed, 
the  steady  dribble  of  orts  from  the  hay-racks,  with  a  little  ad- 
dition of  straw  or  chaff,  will  absorb  all  the  urine  and  prevent 
the  escape  of  ammonia  nearly  all  winter  ;  but  on  succulent  feed 
this  will  not  answer.  The  manure  must  be  removed  with  the 
utmost  vigilance.  The  sheep's  nostrils  are  near  the  ground  ;  the 
shepherd  may  perceive  nothing  amiss  when  he  enters  the  stable, 
while  the  flock  are  sickening  on  ammonia. 

Lambing  in  the  Field. — When  the  lambing  season  is  some- 
what protracted,  the  latter  part  of  it  will  probably  extend  mto 
the  grass,  and  there  will  occur  spells  of  sharp  weather  of  some 
days'  duration,  when  the  ewes  will  have  to  go  afield  some  part  of 
the  day  at  least.  It  is  desirable  to  keep  them  housed  from  cold 
winds  as  much  as  possible,  but  they  cannot  be  confined  alto- 
gether. On  such  days,  the  shepherd  should  watch  the  flock 
carefully,  for  there  is  a  fatality  (or,  rather,  an  explainable  nat- 
ural cause),  which  brings  lambs  fastest  in  the  roughest  weather. 
There  ought  to  be  a  piece  of  good  pasture,  preferably  of  orchard 
grass,  held  in  reserve  near  the  sheep-house  for  such  weather. 
When  a  lamb  is  dropped,  unless  unusually  vigorous,  it  will 
rapidly  chill  in  a  cutting  wind.  The  shepherd  can  decide  what 
to  do  in  five  minutes.  Let  him  be  provided  with  a  light  wheel- 
barrow, a  piece  of  soft  wool-twine  and  a  sheep-hook.  Capture 
the  ewe,  lay  her  on  her  side  ;  take  a  turn  in  the  middle  of  the 
string  around  the  lower  hmd-leg  and  secure  it  with  one  knot ; 
draw  in  the  under  fore-leg,  and  secure  in  the  same  way  ;  then 


98  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

the  upper  hind-leg  ;  lastly,  the  upper  fore-leg,  and  make  fast. 
Lay  the  lamb  between  her  hind-legs  to  keep  it  warm,  then 
wheel  them  gently  to  the  stable.  Here,  if  assisted  to  suck 
once,  it  will  probably  do  well  thenceforth. 

When  the  flock  is  brought  in  after  a  windy  day,  care  must  be 
taken  that  no  lamb  is  left  behind.  They  are  apt  to  hide  away 
during  the  day  in  sheltered  crevices. 

Goitrous  Lambs. — Under  the  headings  "  Congenital  Goitre," 
and  "Imperfectly  Developed  Lambs,"  Dr.  Randall  treats  at 
great  length  certain  abnormal  phenomena  appearing  in  very 
young  lambs,  which  in  all  probability  are  reducible  to  the  same 
category  as  regards  their  cause,  and  that  cause  wholly  adven- 
titious. 

Under  the  heading  of  "Goitre,"  I  shall  have  something 
further  to  say  in  a  subsequent  chapter ;  at  present  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  note  somewhat  more  particularly  the  effects  of  too 
high  feeding  with  grain,  especially  with  com,  Mr.  H.  Miller, 
of  Delaware  County,  Ohio,  in  a  communication  to  the  Ohio 
Farmer,  stated  that  he  had  had  occasion  to  suspect  that  exces- 
sive corn-feeding  of  the  ewes  produced  goitre  in  the  lambs  ;  and, 
by  dividing  the  flock  into  two  portions,  and  feeding  one  lightly 
and  the  other  heavily,  he  satisfied  himself,  by  the  absence  of  the 
malady  from  the  progeny  of  the  lii^hter-fed  ewes,  that  his 
suspicions  were  correct. 

The  flock-master  of  extended  experience  will  often,  in  his 
earUer  career,  find  himself  wondering  why  it  is  that  the  fattest, 
"  stockiest "  ewes  in  his  flock  will  occasionally  yean  the  small- 
est, whitest,  most  puny  lambs.  Sometimes,  however,  instead 
of  being  phenomenally  under-sized,  the  lamb  will  reach  the 
average  stature,  or  even  exceed  it ;  but  it  will  be  of  a  flaccid, 
soft,  muscular  development ;  the  under-side  of  the  hoofs  very 
spongy ;  the  skin  pallid,  especially  around  the  lips,  nose,  the 
septum  of  the  nose,  the  ciliary  caruncles,  and  the  natural  ori- 
fices of  the  body.  It  is  weak — the  least  obstruction  of  the 
liquor  amnii  or  slime  about  the  nostrils  will  prevent  it  from 
getting  its  breath  :  the  liquor  itself  is  colorless,  a  robust  lamb 
being  generally  enveloped  in  yellow  liquor.  If  it  survives  at  all, 
it  will  be  hours  before  it  can  stand,  even  under  the  stimulus  of 
warm  sunshine.     The  ewe  will  be  subject  to  garget. 

The  probability  is,  that  the  mother  of  this  lamb  was  over-fed 
on  corn.  She  may  have  been  sterile  the  preceding  year,  and 
consequently  fat  at  the  coupling  season,  and  she  remained  so 
throughout  the  winter,  to  the  detriment  of  the  lamb  as  above 


FOR  WOOL   AND   3IUTT0>ir.  99 

described.  Still,  experience  and  observation  both  convince  me 
that  there  is  little  danger  of  having  breeding  ewes  too  fat  if 
they  have  plenty  of  exercise  in  the  open  air.  The  errors  are 
nearly  all  committed  upon  the  other  side,  by  having  them  too 
poor.  A  fat  ewe  may  not  produce  as  large  a  lamb  at  birth  as  a 
thinner  one,  but  nine  times  out  of  ten  the  fat  evre's  lamb  will 
be  the  larger  when  a  month  old. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  ewe  sometimes  enters  the  period  of 
gestation  in  high  condition,  and  continues  so  for  a  month  or 
two,  then  begins  to  fall  off  under  good  feeding,  and  as  the  end 
of  her  term  approaches,  staggers  under  her  burden.  Parturition 
is  accomphshed  with  great  difficulty  ;  the  chances  are  that  the 
lamb  will  be  still-bora  ;  she  will  cast  her  fleece  as  a  result  of 
puerperal  fever.  She  has  no  constitution,  and  is  valueless  for 
a  breeder  ;  she  ought  to  be  drafted  from  the  breeding  flock  and 
fattened. 

The  simple  fact  that  a  ewe  disowns  her  lamb,  however  per- 
sistently, should  not  condemn  her  as  a  breeder.  When  she  has 
httle  or  no  milk,  it  seems  to  be  a  monition  of  instinct  that  she 
can  not  rear  it,  and  she  abandons  it  accordingly.  Under  more 
favoring  circumstances  next  year  she  may  prove  the  most 
affectionate  of  mothers.  This  has  often  occurred  in  my  ex- 
perience. 

Green  Rye  for  Ewes. — ^When  grown  on  dry  or  well-drained 
uplands,  green  rye  is  undoubtedly  a  very  valuable  resource  in 
spring,  for  ewes  in  lamb  ;  but  when  cultivated  on  rich,  moist, 
river  bottoms,  its  deleterious  effects  are  beyond  question.  Al- 
though only  moderately  nutritious  and  rather  distasteful  to 
stock,  in  comparison  with  other  kinds  of  green  plants,  still  its 
exceptional  eaiiiness,  bringing  it  forward  at  a  time  wlien  there 
is  nothing  else  above  ground  eatable,  imparts  to  it  a  high  value. 
I  find  by  referring  to  my  farm  journal,  that  I  have  one  year 
mown  a  fair  swath  of  it  as  early  as  March  25. 

It  is  well  known  that  rye  is  subject,  especially  during  cold, 
damp  seasons,  to  the  attack  of  a  parasitic  fungus,  which  attaches 
itself  to  the  seed  m  its  earliest  development.  This  causes  it  to 
grow  out  m  a  long,  dark  excrescence  shaped  like  a  cock's  spur, 
whence  its  name,  ergot.  This  fungus  may  be  detected  by  the 
microscope,  not  only  m  the  head,  but  also  m  other  portions  of 
the  plant ;  and  the  white  sporidia  or  dust  on  the  surface  of  the 
ergot  will  inoculate  other  plants  with  the  disease,  if  scattered  in 
the  sod  at  their  roots,  or  applied  to  the  forming  seeds. 

The  therapeutic  action  of  ergot  is  so  well  known  as  to  require 


100  THE  AMERICAN   MERIXO 

but  a  mere  mention.  It  affects  the  uterus,  tending  to  accelerate 
labor,  and  after  parturition,  to  expel  the  placenta.  Now  for  its 
actual  effect  on  pregnant  ewes.  My  rye  patches  are  sown 
necessarily  on  the  river  bottoms,  where  it  grows  rank  and  is 
liable  to  be  spurred.  In  my  earlier  ignorance  I  allowed  the 
ewes  to  run  on  it  nearly  through  the  whole  lambing  season. 
They  gave  me  an  unusual  and  (at  that  time)  unaccountable 
amount  of  trouble.  When  I  succeed  in  inducing  a  ewe  to 
recognize  and  own  a  lamb,  I  expect  no  more  trouble  with  her 
if  she  has  plenty  of  milk.  But  here  they  acted  regardless  of  all 
precedent.  I  would  establish  practical  relations  between  a  ewe 
and  lamb,  both  of  them  strong  and  healthy  ;  she  would  have  a 
full  supply  of  milk  for  it,  and  everything  would  go  on  correctly 
for  two  or  three  days,  and  then,  the  first  thing  I  knew,  the  lamb 
would  be  going  around  drawn  up  nearly  double,  disowned  and 
half  starved.  The  ewes  were  in  good  condition  and  full  of  milk. 
Several  of  the  lambs  seemed  to  have  been  dropped  prematurely. 
The  dams  paid  no  attention  to  them.  Myself  and  hired  man 
were  chasing,  tying  up,  whipping,  and  otherwise  employing 
coercive  measures  toward  refractory  ewes,  all  through  the  sea- 
son. It  was  a  warm,  early  spring,  and  there  seemed  no  excuse 
for  such  wanton  proceedings.  Toward  the  end  of  the  season 
the  flock  was  removed  to  a  field  of  red  clover,  and  in  about  a 
week  the  trouble  ceased.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  fungoid 
spores  were  present  already  in  the  young  plants.  If  there  is 
any  reason  to  suspect  their  presence,  pregnant  ewes  should  not 
be  allowed  to  graze  on  rye  for  a  fortnight  before  yeaning,  and 
not  for  a  week  or  ten  days  after. 

Defective  Teats. — In  case  a  ewe  has  had  a  teat  clipped  off 
by  a  careless  shearer,  she  ought  not  to  be  admitted  to  the  breed' 
ing-flock,  but  if  she  has  got  in  through  oversight,  she  had  better 
be  marked  for  rejection  next  time,  unless  she  is  otherwise  ex- 
ceptionally valuable.  The  orifice  will  be  grown  up,  but  a  new 
one  can  be  created  by  inserting  a  small  trocar  and  canula,  and 
leaving  the  latter  in  for  several  days,  withdrawing  it  every  day 
to  apply  some  ointment  of  tar  and  powdered  vitriol,  which  will 
assist  the  healing  process. 

Sometimes  a  middle-aged  ewe  will  have  a  teat  which,  though 
yielding  wholesome  milk,  is  enormously  enlarged,  so  that  the 
lamb  can  not  deplete  it  without  assistance.  The  teat  must  be 
taken  in  hand  promptly,  else  it  will  become  so  engorged  as  to 
be  feverish,  and  then  it  will  be  many  days  before  the  ewe  will 
permit  the  lamb  to  touch  it.     She  must  be  kept  up  on  dry  feed, 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  101 

and  the  milk  withdrawn  several  times  a  day,  until  the  lamb 
gets  hungry.  It  is  singular  how  soon  a  bright  lamb  will  get 
into  a  habit  of  depending  on  one  teat,  and  it  is  sometimes  neces- 
sary to  sin  ear  the  favorite  one  with  tar  for  a  while,  to  make  the 
lamb  take  to  the  large  one. 

Twins. — With  the  Merino  ewe,  twins  are  seldom  desirable, 
unless  it  is  in  a  standard  or  stud-flock,  where  the  great  value  of 
the  lambs  will  justify  very  high  artiiicial  feeding.  If  the  ewe 
is  large  and  a  free  milker,  and  the  twins  of  about  equal  size,  she 
may  be  allowed  to  retain  both,  and  should  be  put  m  a  small 
enclosure  or  pasture  alone  with  them,  until  they  become  thor- 
oughly accustomed  to  each  other.  But  if  one  is  conspicuously 
smaller  than  the  other,  the  shepherd  will  generally  be  the 
gainer  by  giving  the  dwarf  to  a  neighbor.  If  he  has  a  fresh, 
lambless  ewe,  he  can  compel  her  to  adopt  it,  but  he  must  make 
up  his  mind  to  struggle  with  her  for  two  or  three  weeks. 

Stiff  Neck. — Lambs  running  afield  in  damp,  cold  weather, 
are  subject  to  rheumatism  in  this  form.  The  great  cervical 
muscles  are  flattened  and  rigid,  the  head  is  drawn  down  almost 
to  the  ground,  so  that  the  little  animal,  though  perfectly  bright 
otherwise,  is  unable  to  suck.  I  have  never  given  any  treatment 
beyond  assisting  the  lamb  to  suck  for  a  few  days.  I  had  a  case 
once  which  lasted  twenty  days  before  recovery  was  complete. 
Doctor  Randall  states  that  a  cure  can  readily  be  effected  by 
administering  a  teaspoonful  of  turpentine,  in  two  of  lard,  reduc- 
ing the  dose  for  a  very  young  lamb.  It  is  one  of  the  evils  at- 
tendant upon  lambing  before  the  season  is  sufficiently  advanced 
to  afford  grass-made  milk  and  sunny  weather. 

Castration  and  Docking. — It  is  rather  severe  on  the  ram- 
lambs,  to  have  to  undergo  castration  and  docking  together  ;  yet 
out  of  many  hundreds  I  have  operated  upon,  I  have  lost  less 
than  a  half-dozen  from  excessive  bleeding.  I  attach  no  import- 
ance to  the  '*  signs"  in  this  matter,  and  never  consult  the 
almanac  beforehand  ;  but  there  are  undoubtedly  certain  times 
in  the  month  when  bleeding  will  be  more  prolonged  than  at 
others.  If  the  reader  is  skeptical  on  this  point,  before  he  scoffs 
at  the  "superstition"  of  an  old  shepherd,  let  him  make  the 
experiment  for  himself.  Instead  of  consulting  tlie  almanac, 
then,  let  the  flock-master  perform  an  operation  (docking  is  the 
best  test,  as  castration  causes  little  bleeding  anyway),  on  two  or 
three  lambs,  and  if  they  bleed  profusely,  he  had  better  defer  the 
operation  a  few  days. 


102  THE   AMERICAN    MERIXO 

If  castration  and  docking  could  be  performed  without  assist- 
ance, it  would  be  best,  every  way,  to  attend  to  them  both  before 
the  lamb  is  a  week  old,  but  it  is  not  very  convenient  to  do  it 
without  an  attendant,  and  for  this  reason,  most  shepherds  will 
always  continue  the  practice  of  going  through  the  whole  flock 
at  once.  Still,  if  settled  warm  weather  is  to  be  expected  before 
lambing  is  over,  it  is  best  not  to  wait  for  that,  but  set  to  work 
promptly,  and  then  finish  the  stragglers  in  a  second  batch. 

Castration  ought  always  to  be  performed  before  docking ;  it 
requires  a  finer  and  sharper  blade  than  the  latter.  Cool,  cloudy 
weather  is  best.  Let  the  flock  be  driven  up  in  the  evening, 
without  heating  or  worrying  the  lambs  ;  then,  during  the  night, 
they  will  measurably  recover  from  their  stiffness  and  be  ready 
to  follow  the  ewes  afield  in  the  morning.  Let  the  catcher  bring 
forward  one  lamb  at  a  time,  and  hold  it  perpendicular  before 
him,  head  uppermost,  back  against  his  breast,  a  fore-leg  and  a 
hind-leg  grasped  in  each  hand,  but  not  drawn  together  so 
tightly  as  to  make  the  belly  concave  and  draw  the  testicles 
back.  The  operator  seizes  the  end  of  the  scrotum  and  cuts  it 
off  well  up — the  closer  up  it  is  cut  the  less  cod  there  is  left  to 
hinder  the  shearer.  Then  he  takes  the  scrotum  in  the  right 
hand,  works  the  testicles  down,  seizes  one  at  the  time  between 
the  thumb  and  fore-finger  of  the  left  hand,  jamming  the  thumb 
hard  do^vn  (it  takes  a  powerful  grasp  and  a  stiff  thumb  to  draw 
the  testicle  of  a  robust  lamb),  and  draws  it  out  with  a  steady 
pull.  Care  should  be  taken  to  slip  the  skin,  the  fat  and  the 
interior  pouch,  or  membrane  up,  so  that  nothing  shall  be 
grasped  but  the  naked  testicle.  The  knife  should  not  be  used 
except  to  cut  off  the  lower  end  of  the  scrotum,  nor  is  there  any 
particular  virtue  in  any  other  method  of  severing  the  spermatic 
cord,  except  by  pulling.  It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  scrape  it 
off.  Let  not  the  operator  be  alarmed  if  the  spermatic  nerve  (the 
white,  glistening  cord),  is  drawn  out  at  considerable  length,  and 
three  or  four  inches  of  it  left  dangling  from  the  pouch.  It  is 
bloodless,  and  will  not  attract  flies  ;  it  soon  dries  up  and  will 
give  no  trouble.  In  all  my  experience,  I  have  never  found  it 
necessary  to  apply  any  ointment  to  the  pouch  to  keep  off  flies, 
if  only  the  stump  of  the  tail  is  well  protected.  Blood  is  apt  to 
trickle  from  tliis  down  the  whole  length  of  the  legs,  and  it 
needs  careful  attention. 

The  catcher  still  holding  the  lamb  in  the  position  above  de- 
scribed, the  operator  takes  another  knife  and  severs  the  tail. 
He  should  first  carefully  ascertain  by  feeling  with  the  thumb 


FOR   WOOL   AXD    MUTTOX.  10)3 

where  the  joint  is,  for  the  bone  is  hard  to  cut  in  a  lamb  of  some 
weeks'  age.  The  length  of  tail  to  be  left,  is  not  the  unim- 
portant matter  the  careless  shepherd  might  think  it ;  too  long  a 
stump  is  inconvenient  to  shear,  and  promotes  fouling  ;  too  short 
a  one  detracts  greatly  from  the  beauty  of  the  animal.  An  inch 
in  length  on  the  under  side  is  enough  ;  this  will  round  out  in 
fair  and  seemly  proportions,  the  horseshoe-shaped  ''  escutcheon," 
which  is  a  feature  of  much  importance  in  the  outward  make-up 
of  a  handsome  Merino. 

If  the  weather  is  likely  to  remain  cool  and  cloudy  for  several 
days,  until  the  blood  dries  up,  no  application  will  be  needed. 
Otherwise,  a  half  teaspoonful  of  fish-oil  should  be  well  worked 
into  the  wool  at  the  stump  of  the  tail,  so  that  it  may  dribble 
downward.  Tar  is  objectionable,  it  smears  the  wool.  As  fast 
as  the  lambs  are  docked  they  ought  to  be  dropped  outside  the 
building,  where  they  will  not  be  disturbed  in  the  further  pur- 
suit of  operations. 

The  Scotch  method  of  burning  the  tail  off  with  a  red-hot  iron 
(several  of  which  are  kept  heated  close  at  hand),  is  a  very  good 
one.  The  operation  is  instantaneous,  and  the  cauterization 
prevents  bleeding. 

A  writer  in  the  Ohio  Farmer  contributes  the  following  : 
*'  There  is  a  better  way  of  docking  lambs  than  to  use  a  chisel 
and  mallet.  The  writer  has  used  for  two  or  three  years  a  pair 
of  toe  nippers  (the  same  as  used  for  trimming  the  hoofs  of 
sheep).  The  writer's  plan  is  to  take  the  toe  nippers  with  him 
when  he  goes  to  look  after  the  lambs  each  day,  and  dock  and 
castrate  all  that  are  two  or  three  days  old.  By  the  time  the 
ewes  are  through  lambing  and  ready  to  wash  and  shear,  the 
lambs  will  be  healed  and  exempt  from  trouble  with  flies." 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  this  would  be  an  excellent 
method.  One  man  could  do  the  work  alone.  With  the  lamb 
held  between  the  knees  of  the  operator,  as  he  sits  on  a  box,  the 
left  hand  should  work  the  skin  of  the  tail  toward  the  body,  so 
that  when  the  tail  is  severed,  there  may  be  a  hood  or  flap  of 
skin  to  cover  the  bone  and  assist  in  healing  the  wound.  With 
a  stout  pail'  of  sheep-shears,  castration  might  be  performed  at 
the  same  time  ;  for,  rough  as  this  method  may  seem,  when  the 
lamb  is  very  young,  the  pouch  and  testicles  may  be  severed  at 
one  stroke  close  to  the  belly,  with  the  best  of  results. 

Re-docking. — Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  lamb  needs  re- 
docking  after  it  has  attained  a  growth  of  some  months.    In 


104  THE   AMERICAN    MEKIXO 

case  it  is  a  ewe  lamb,  it  is  better  to  re-dock  than  to  suffer  an 
unsightly  stump  to  remain.  It  may  be  done  safely,  but  it 
would  be  advisable  to  sear  the  wound  with  a  hot  iron,  or  put  on 
a  pinch  of  powdered  blue  vitriol. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
TAGGING,  WASHING  ETC. 

Necessity  for  Tagging.— Where  a  very  small  flock  is  kept, 
and  they  run  afield  all  winter,  getting  more  or  less  old  grass 
every  day,  they  seldom  scour  when  grass  begins  to  grow  green, 
and  tagging  is  not  necessary.  But  flocks  which  are  confined 
through  the  winter,  no  matter  how  healthy  and  how  high  their 
condition  may  be,  are  sure  to  contain  a  certain  percentage, 
which,  when  turned  out,  wiU  become  polluted  about  the  vent 
before  the  time  for  shearing  comes  on ;  and  the  results  of  a 
neglect  of  tagging  are  so  abominable,  that  no  self-respecting 
farmer  can  afford  to  neglect  this  precaution. 

The  utmost  care  should  be  exercised  in  handling  pregnant 
ewes  while  tagging.  Blakely's  sheep  chair  is  a  good  thing  to 
hold  sheep  in  while  this  operation  is  being  performed.  It  is 
just  high  enough  for  the  operator  to  stand  up,  leaning  to  the 
sheep  a  little,  in  a  comfortable  position  to  work.  It  is  adjust- 
able so  that  it  can  be  let  out  or  taken  up  to  conform  to  the  size, 
and  is  adapted  to  all  sheep.  To  tag  sheep  rapidly  and  well,  the 
operator  must  be  handy  with  the  shears,  gentle  with  tne  sheep, 
and  have  a  mechanical  eye.  Many  cut  off  twice  as  much  wool 
as  is  necessary  by  not  cutting  in  the  right  place,  and  leaving  it 
where  it  should  be  cut ;  and  before  shearing  time  comes  around, 
some  of  the  sheep  are  as  bad  as  ever.  Tag  one  sheep  and  let  it 
go,  and  take  a  look  at  it  when  it  is  going  from  you,  and  you  can 
tell  if  you  have  sheared  in  the  right  place  to  escape  the  falling 
dung.  B}--  thus  observing,  you  can,  by  shearing  a  small  area  in 
the  right  place,  thoroughly  tag  a  sheep  by  cutting  off  a  small 
quantity  of  wool.  Where  more  wool  is  cut  from  one  side  than 
the  other,  it  makes  the  sheep  look  one-sided,  but  done  in  a 
workman-like  manner,  it  adds  to  rather  than  detracts  from  the 
looks  of  the  sheep. 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTOX.  105 

One  year  we  clipped  the  tags  from  about  seven  hundred  and 
sixty  sheep,  which,  after  being  washed  three  times  in  warm 
Boap-suds,  weighed  one  hundred  and  eleven  and  one-half  pounds. 
I  calculate  that  at  least  one-quarter  of  this  amount  would  have 
been  lost,  if  it  had  remained  on  the  sheep  until  the  regular 
shearing,  because  it  would  have  become  formed  into  dung-balls 
or  clipped  off  in  fighting  maggots.  Say  then  that  we  saved 
thirty  pounds  ;  at  only  forty  cents  a  pound,  it  is  worth  twelve 
dollars.  At  one  and  a  half  cents  per  head  for  tagging,  the 
operation  cost  ten  dollars  and  ninety  cents.  The  saving  in 
wool  paid  for  the  labor,  to  say  nothing  of  the  avoidance  of  that 
most  odious  task  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  shepherd,  the  rid- 
ding of  sheep  from  maggots.  The  ewes  were  heavy  with  lamb, 
but  with  careful  handling,  not  one  of  them  suffered  any  injury. 
Thus  the  udders  were  freed  from  wool,  and  the  lambs  all  have 
clean,  white  faces,  instead  of  the  miserable,  dung-smeared 
heads,  which  too  often  disgrace  a  flock. 

Tagging  Wethers. — As  wether  lambs  are  apt  to  become 
fouled  about  the  pizzle  before  shearing-time,  and  consequently 
fall  a  prey  to  maggots  ;  it  is  well  to  tag  them  in  this  place  also, 
as  well  as  about  the  vent.  Even  if  no  flies  attack  them,  the 
wool  becomes  so  clotted  and  heated  with  urine,  as  to  create  a 
festering  sore.  But  I  have  never  found  it  necessary  to  tag 
wethers  under  the  belly  after  the  first  year's  shearing. 

Clipping  the  Hoofs. — In  all  Merino  flocks  there  is  a  certain 
percentage  which  will  require  to  be  caught  and  have  their  hoofs 
shortened  twice  a  year ;  sometimes  a  few  will  need  it  nearly 
every  month.  There  is  nothing  better  for  this  purpose  than 
Dana's  toe-shears  ;  and  1  have  never  found  any  better  time  for 
the  operation  in  spring,  than  at  the  tagging.  One  man  can 
catch  and  clip  the  toes,  while  another  does  the  tagging.  The 
operator,  having  caught  the  sheep,  sets  it  on  the  buttock,  with 
its  back  toward  him,  jams  the  left  thumb  between  the  hoofs  to 
hold  them  well  apart,  and  turns  the  shears  in  such  fashion  as  to 
cut  each  segment  of  the  hoofs  from  within,  the  inside  being 
softer  than  the  outside.  If  too  thick  and  flinty,  the  hoof  must 
be  set  on  a  solid  block  or  board,  and  shortened  with  a  chisel  and 
mallet.     Hoofs  are  always  softest  in  wet  weather. 

Policy  of  Washing. — A  vast  majority  of  experienced,  well- 
informed  shepherds  are  agreed  upon  three  points  : 

1.  Washing  is  an  injury,  both  to  the  sheep  and  to  the  washer. 

2.  It  is  a  benefit  to  the  fleece. 


106  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

3.  On  account  of  the  long-established,  but  more  or  less  un- 
equal and  unjust  "rule  of  thumb,"  enforced  by  wool-buyers,  by 
vh-tue  of  which  unwashed  fleeces  are  subject  to  deduction  of 
one-third  from  the  price  of  brook-washed  cUps,  the  keeper  of  an 
ordinary,  out-door,  wool-bearing  flock,  must  wash  his  sheep  or 
suffer  pecuniary  loss. 

As  to  the  first  point,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  for  the  oppo- 
nents of  washing  to  assert  that  it  is  injurious  to  the  sheep  of 
average  robustness  and  accustomed  to  run  out-doors  ;  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  claim  (what  can  be  truthfully  asserted),  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  flock  in  such  high  and  uniform  condition, 
that  some  one  or  more  would  not  suffer  detriment  in  washing. 
And  for  the  sake  of  these  few  weaklings,  it  is  a  pity  that  the 
flock  could  not  escape  the  ordeal  of  being  forced  into  the  water, 
which  the  sheep,  above  all  other  domesticated  animals,  dislikes. 
By  this  I  mean  sudden  and  complete  immersion.  Every  prac- 
tical shepherd  knows  that  hardy  and  well-fed  sheep,  even  thor- 
oughbred Merinos,  will  stand  tranquilly  through  long  winter 
rains,  until  their  fleeces  are  saturated,  when  ten  steps  would 
carry  them  under  shelter  ;  nor  will  they  be  injured  a  pai'ticle 
thereby. 

In  the  course  of  my  experience,  I  have  washed  every  year 
from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  sheep.  Some  years,  when 
the  weather  was  favorable,  not  only  have  I  not  lost  any,  but  I 
could  not  discover  that  a  single  sheep  was  damaged.  Other 
years,  when  cold  rains  supervened  quickly  upon  washing,  I 
have  lost  one  per  cent  or  more — a  loss  directly  attributable  to 
washing — to  say  nothing  of  the  f  alling-off  in  scores  or  hundreds 
more — undoubtedly  a  greater  total  loss  than  I  should  have  suf- 
fered from  selUng  the  clip  unwashed. 

In  the  hilly  region  of  Southern  Ohio,  in  which  my  experience 
with  sheep  has  been  cast,  foot-rot  is  extremely  rare  ;  and  I  have 
never  known,  or  heard  of  a  case,  where  a  flock  contracted  it  on 
the  road  to  the  washing-pen,  or  in  it.  Yet,  I  am  not  in  the  least 
disposed  to  be-little  the  dangers  from  this  source,  which  are 
urged  by  the  opponents  of  washing  as  an  argument  of  capital 
force  and  importance  against  the  custom,  where  this  malady 
prevails. 

As  to  the  washers  themselves,  there  are  plenty  of  men,  young 
and  hardy,  who  could  wash  sheep  all  day,  once  a  year,  for  a 
generation,  and  not  perceive  in  themselves  any  f alling-off  in 
physical  vigor;  yet  none  the  less  surely  and  inexorably  they 


FOR    WOOL   A^B    MUTTOX.  107 

will  suffer  loss  of  vitality  in  the  end.  I  have  never  known  one 
to  incur  anything  beyond  a  trivial  chill  or  cold,  which  disap- 
peared under  mild  treatment.  The  old-fashioned  practice  of 
taking  whiskey  on  this  occasion,  only  made  matters  worse. 
Alcohol  is  specifically  determined  to  the  brain  under  natural 
conditions,  and  when,  in  addition,  the  blood  is  driven  thither 
by  the  chill  of  the  lower  extremities,  drunkenness  is  tolerably 
certain  to  ensue. 

All  sheep  are  injured  by  washing,  indirectly  ;  that  is,  by  the 
necessity  of  wearing  their  fleeces  in  hot  weather,  while  waiting 
for  the  water  to  get  warm  enough  for  washing.  This  is  true  of 
dry  flocks,  and  still  more  so  of  suckling  ewes.  In  the  earher 
years  of  my  shepherding,  I  often  wondered  why  lambs,  after 
springing  forward  rapidly  for  three  or  four  weeks  in  the  last  of 
April  and  first  of  May,  would  then  experience  a  decided  check, 
becoming  before  shearing  time,  slightly  "pot-bellied,"  less 
rangy,  exhibiting  those  unmistakable,  but  often  hardly  de- 
Bcribable  changes  of  form,  by  which  the  trained  eyes  of  the 
shepherd  detects  stunting.  I  am  now  satisfied  it  was  caused  by 
the  drying-up  of  the  ewes'  milk,  as  a  result  of  the  fevered  blood 
produced  by  carrying  heavy  fleeces  in  the  piece  during  the 
early  heat  of  our  American  summer,  Proof  of  this  was  fur- 
nished by  the  continued  progressive  thrift  of  lambs  running 
alongside,  whose  mothers  had  been  shorn  before  settled  hot 
weather  commenced. 

As  to  the  second  proposition,  it  is  hardy  necessary  to  state  to 
a  practical  man  that  a  washed  fleece  is  easier  to  shear  and 
easier  to  do  up  than  an  unwashed.  "  Shearing  in  the  dirt "  is 
hard  work,  and  the  fleece  falls  to  pieces  in  a  vexatious  fashion 
on  the  table,  especially  if  the  sheep  has  been  fed  for  the  sham- 
bles, or  is  naturally  very  yolky.  It  is  essential  to  the  ready  and 
accurate  sorting  of  a  fleece  into  the  half-dozen  or  more  grades 
to  which  it  is  ultimately  assigned,  that  it  should  be  kept  well 
together,  and  w-ashing  is  a  great  aid  thereto.  For  instance,  if 
shoulder- wool  is  worth  fifty  cents  a  pound,  and  the  belly-wool 
fifteen  cents,  and  they  are  mingled  together,  the  sorter  will 
invariably  classify  the  mixture  below  its  real  value,  if  he  does 
not  incontinently  consign  it  all  to  the  lower  grade  of  the  two. 
This  does  not  concern  the  farmer,  except  in  a  large  way ;  he 
would  not  probably  be  paid  by  the  wool-buyer  a  cent  more  for 
the  well-folded  fleece  than  for  the  jumbled  one  ;  the  growth  and 
condition  being  the  same  in  both.  But  it  does  react  upon  hiiu 
unfavorably   in   this   way :     It    prejudices   the   manufacturer 


108 


THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 


against  unwashed  wool,  and  he  makes  it  the  subject  of  hostile 
discrimination. 

It  is  not  worth  while  to  go  to  the  length  of  some  advocates  of 
■washing,  who  assert  that  the  buyer  can  not  classify  wool  as 
correctly  when  unwashed  as  when  it  is  washed.  A  genuine 
expert,  though  he  may  declare  that  he  likes  the  feel  of  washed 
wool  better,  can  pronounce  upon  the  actual  merits  of  a  clip  as 
well  in  one  condition  as  the  other.  If  not,  he  has  mistaken  his 
calling. 

As  to  the  third  proposition,  it  is  not  worth  while  here  (for  this 
work  is  addressed,  not  to  wool-buyers,  but  to  wool-growers), 
to  enter  upon  an  extended  discussion  of  the  justice  or  injustice 
of  the  "  one-third  iTile."  I  shall  confine  myself  principally  to 
the  statement  of  a  few  practical  facts,  which  will  furnish  the 
reader  with  a  ready-made  commentary  upon  this  time-honored 
practice  of  tlie  buyers. 

At  my  request,  Mr.  A.  F.  Breckenridge,  of  Brown's  Mills, 
Ohio,  who  is  one  of  our  best  breeders  of  full-bloods,  furnished 
me  a  transcript  from  his  flock  book,  which  is  of  interest  as  bear- 
ing on  the  question  of  washing,  In  1877  he  washed  fifty-eight 
sheep  and  sheared  them  about  June  1 ;  in  1878  he  let  the  same 
sheep  go  unwashed  and  sheared  them  April  30.  Both  years  he 
recorded  the  weight  of  every  fleece  to  an  ounce.  I  give  these 
tables  entire.  It  will  be  observed  that  I  have  worked  out  the 
percentage  of  loss  for  the  first  table. 


SIX-TEAR   OLDS. 


FIVE-TEAR  OLDS. 


Sheep's 


41 
45 
46 
49 
50 
52 
58 
54 
55 
57 
60 
61 
62 


xr    i  J  I      Un-     iFerc'taqe     Sheep^s 
^^""'^'^wa^^hedA     lost.     \      No. 


Lbs.  Oz. 

8  Q2 

6  09 

6  00 

6  00 

6  04 

5  01 

6  07 
6  04 

5  14 

6  11 

5  12 

6  10 

7  12 


J 


WasJied. 


Lbs.  Oz. 

9  02 

11 

26 

7  02 

10 

t   29 

7  01 

14 

30 

7  00 

14 

33 

7  08 

17 

39 

7  08 

33 

42 

8  00 

20 

43 

8  00 

21 

56 

8  06 

30 

'        58 

7  01 

8 

'   59 

6  12 

15 

1   63 

8  01 

18 

1 

9  10 

20 

1 

Un-     I  Ferc'tage 
icashed.  '      lost. 


7 
5 
7 
I 

5 
6 
6 
5 


00 
10 
08 
0.3 
04 
08 
00 
00 


6    13 
6    13 

5     10 


Lbs.  Oz.  Lbs.  Oz.  I 


8  00 

7  08  I 

9  00 
7  10 


8  00 

8  00 

6  10 

6  08 

7  13 


06 
00 


FOR   WOOL  AKD   MUTT0:N'. 


109 


rOUR-TEA.R   OI.DS 

THREE-TEAR   OLDS. 

Sheep^s 
No. 

\^  ashed. 

Un- 
washed. 

Ferc^tage 
lost. 

Sheep^s 

No. 

Washed. 

Un- 
va^hed. 

PercHage 
lost. 

65 

66 

Lbs.  Oz. 

5  08 

6  12 

5  14 

6  08 

10  00 

11  00 
8    00 

7  11 

6  11 

7  00 
6    02 

10    13 

5  12 

6  12 
5    00 

7  00 

Lbs.  Oz. 
8    04 

7  03 

8  13 

9  04 
12    00 
11    12 

9    12 
10    00 
10    02 

10  08 

8  00 

11  08 

7  02 

9  06 

8  02 

9  12 

i 

i 

1 

...... ..\ 

•  ■••■•••1 

1 

81 

82 
83 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
!        90 

!        92 
93 
&4 
95 
96 
97 
98 

Lbs.  Oz. 

10  00 
9    00 

11  00 
10    03 

9    12 

7  12 
9    01 

8  12 

8  01 

9  03 
8    02 

7  08 

8  12 
6    11 
8    12 
8    02 
8    00 
8    02 

Lbs.  Oz. 

10  06 
9    OS 

11  OJ 
11    00 
10    12 
10    00 

9    03 
10    00 

9    03 
10    08 
10    00 

9    00 
10    04 

8    12 

10  00 

11  00 
10    00 
10    00 

67 

68 
69 

70 

71 

72  ■ 

73 

74 

75 

•  ••*■•«•• 

•  •■•■■••> 

76 

77 

1 

78 

79 

80 

Of  course  these  tables  do  not  make  a  thoroughly  fair  exhibit, 
since  the  unwashed  fleeces  had  only  eleven  months'  growth.  In 
the  computations  herewith  following,  I  have  in  every  instance 
added  one-eleventh  to  the  unwashed  weights,  though  that  gain 
is  doubtless  somewhat  inaccurate,  since  the  fleece  would  grow 
less  than  an  average  during  the  twelfth  month.  But  it  is  prob- 
ably as  near  an  approach  to  correctness  as  will  ever  be  attained 
until  some  experimenter  vv-ho  can  afford  it  shears  a  flock  at  the 
same  date  for  several  years,  alternately  washed  and  unwashed. 

I  find  that  the  three-year-olds  suffered  an  average  loss  of  one 
pound,  foui'teen  and  two-thirds  of  an  ounce  per  fleece,  or  nine- 
teen per  cent,  on  an  average  fleece  of  eleven  pounds. 

The  four-year-olds  suffered  a  loss  of  three  pounds  and  one 
ounce,  or  twenty-nine  per  cent,  on  an  average  fleece  of  ten 
pounds  and  six  ounces. 

The  five-year-olds  suffered  a  loss  of  two  pounds  and  one 
ounce,  or  twenty-four  per  cent,  on  an  average  fleece  of  eight 
pounds  and  eight  ounces. 

The  six-year-olds  suffered  a  loss  of  two  pounds  and  one  ounce, 
or  twenty-four  per  cent,  on  an  average  fleece  of  eight  pounds 
and  eight  ounces. 

In  looking  over  the  above  tables,  the  reader  will  perhaps  be 
surprised  to  observe  that  generally  the  heaviest  fleeces,  which 
doubtless  lost  most  in  the  scouring-tub,  lost  least  in  the  brook 


110  THE   AMERICAN    MERINO 

or  washing  process.  The  explanation  of  this  fact  is,  that  where 
very  yolky  sheep  are  housed,  the  yolk  becomes  more  or  less 
inspissated,  so  that  it  does  not  yield  to  the  solvent  action  of  cold 
water.  In  confirmation  of  the  showing  of  the  tables  in  this 
respect,  I  will  adduce  a  remarkable  experience  which  was  given 
me  by  another  breeder  of  full-bloods,  a  perfectly  trustworthy 
gentleman.  He  had  a  ram  which  he  had  shorn  three  years,  and 
his  heaviest  fleece  in  that  time  was  twenty-two  pounds  and 
twelve  ounces.  The  fourth  year  he  took  him  into  the  water, 
and  with  his  own  hands  washed  him  thoroughly.  After  a  lapse 
of  two  weeks  he  was  shorn  and  yielded  twenty-four  pounds  and 
four  ounces ! 

There  were  occasional  disturbing  factors  which  produced  ap- 
parent discrepancies  in  the  above  tables,  as,  for  instance,  the 
suckling  of  a  lamb  one  year  and  not  the  other  ;  but,  as  a  geo- 
logist would  say,  the  extent  of  the  plateau  is  so  considerable 
that  the  location  of  the  "■fault'*  is  scarcely  discernible. 

Now,  the  average  shrinkage  on  these  four  lots  of  sheep  was 
twenty-four  per  cent.  Reasoning  from  this  fact,  the  farmer 
would  probably  arrive  promptly  at  the  conclusion  that  the  de- 
duction on  unwashed  wool  ought  to  be  twenty -four  per  cent., 
(say,  one  quarter),  instead  of  one-third  required  by  the  manu- 
facturer.    But  this  view  is  erroneous. 

The  fallacy  lies  in  the  fact,  that  the  basis  of  all  calculations 
as  to  the  value  of  wool  is  the  scoured  j^ound,  in  other  words, 
clean  wool.  This  is  the  foundation  of  all  reckonings.  The 
manufacturer  simply  ascertains  what  the  scoured  pound  is 
worth  in  the  markets  of  the  United  States — X,  XX,  XXX,  or 
picklock,  quarter-blood  or  common,  medium,  or  whatever  the 
grade  may  be.  Then  he  glances  at  a  table  in  which  are  given 
the  average  rates  of  shrinkage  of  washed  and  unwashed  wools, 
of  the  different  grades,  from  different  sections  of  the  country  ; 
with  the  value  of  each  per  pound. 

To  illustrate,  let  us  take  the  general  average  for  the  United 
States.  Messrs.  David  Scull,  Jr.  &  Bro.,  wool  commission  mer- 
chants of  Philadelphia,  in  a  letter  to  myself,  stated  that  the  rate 
of  shrinkage  in  scouring  is  sixty-seven  to  seventy  per  cent,  on 
unwashed  Merino  wool,  and  forty-eight  to  fifty-two  per  cent, 
on  washed.  (My  friend,  Mr.  W.  M.  Brown,  Superintendent  of 
the  Beverly  Woolen  Mill,  <j;ave  the  figures  as  fifty-nine  and  forty 
per  cent,  respectively  ;  but  the  clips  he  was  accustomed  to 
handle  were  lighter  and  drier  than  the  average  of  the  United 
States). 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOIS". 


Ill 


That  the  figures  given  by  Messrs.  Scull  are  approximately- 
correct,  is  shown  by  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  results 
of  the  scouring  of  seventeen  fleeces  sent  by  the  Missouri  Wool 
Grower's  Association,  from  Bedalia,  to  Messrs.  Walter  Brown 
&  Co.,  of  Boston,  and  scoured  by  a  professional  scourer  at  Wal- 
pole,  Mass.  : 


BREED. 


Merino  ewe. . . 
Grade  ewe. . . , 
Merino  ram. . . 
Merino  ewe. . 
Merino  ewe. . 
Merino  ram. . 
Merino  ram. . 
Merino  ewe. . 
Merino  ram. . 
Merino  ram. . 
Merino  ewe. . , 
Merino  ewe. . 
Merino  ram. . 
S.  1).  ram.... 
S.  D.  M.  ram. 
Cots w'd  ewe. 
Cotsw'dewe. 


1 

1 

^ 

s 

11 

1 

CO 

?^ 

5.        J. 

^ 

%> 

^ 

40 

§. 

^ 

^ 

^ 

1^ 

•&.§ 

i^ 

^ 

Years. 
3 
1 
2 
3 
3 
3 
7 
1 
1 
2 
2 
4 
2 
1 
1 
3 
1 


Days. 
372 
365 
372 
376 
376 
370 
360 
360 
365 
360 
358 
365 
371 
365 
;!65 
o35 
od5 


Lbs, 

15 

8 

'  28 

17 

16 

28 

21 

13 

12 

25 

18 

17 

25 

!  8 

'  6 

I   16 


Oz.  Lbs. 


5 

10 
4 
8 
3 

14 
1 
7 
6 
7 
1 

10 

13 
0 


14 

8 
27 
17 
15 
28 
20 
13 
12 
25 
18 
17 
25 
7 
6 
Ki 
11 


Oz.  Lbs. 
13i  5 
4 


11  i 

15  i 
13  ! 
11  ' 

Ik 

4  i 

3 

0 

5 

6  ! 


2 

7 
5 
5 
7 
6 
5 
4 
i 
6 
5 
t 

3 
3 


13 

o 

b  i  11 

10   6 


Oz. 

9i 
14 
14 
13i 

6 

15^ 
12* 

0 

Hi 

121 
3^ 
61 
4* 
7* 
3  i 
3 

lU 


Per  ct. 
62.32 
65.16 
71.69 
65.69 
66.78 
72  40 
67.15 
61. Si 
61. 3o 
6:'.  05 
C5.05 
6'>.7S 
70.82 
55.39 
48  05 
30  03 

4..or 


S    00 

Si  <a 


$4.04 

1   2.26 

;   5.45 

3.90 

'   3.55 

i   5.75 

4.66 

3.57 

•   3.45 

5.44 

4.33 

3.46 

4  69 

2.25 

2  14 

4  .3 

2.97 


We  may  accept  therefore  the  figures  sixty-seven  to  seventy 
as  a  fair  percentage  of  loss,  with  this  reservation,  however,  that 
a  greater  part  of  the  unwashed  wool  of  the  Eastern  States,  as 
is  evidently  the  case  with  that  above  tabulated,  was  taken  from 
stud-flocks,  housed  sheep  ;  and  that  this  percentage  would  be 
too  high  for  ordinary  Merino  flocks. 

It  may  further  be  remarked,  Incidentally,  that  this  table 
shows  an  invariable  loss  in  the  fleece  between  shearing  and 
sorting. 

Now,  let  us  suppose  that  the  buyer  purchases  one  hundi-ed 
pounds  of  washed  wool  at  thirty  cents  a  pound.  The  shrinkage 
in  scouring  is  forty-eight  per  cent.  This  leaves  him  fifty-two 
pounds  of  clean  wool,  costing  thirty  dollars.  Now,  suppose  he 
wishes  to  purchase  one  hundred  pounds  of  unwashed  wool,  how 
much  must  he  pay  per  pound  so  that  it  shall  cost  him  the  same 
per  scoured  pound  as  the  first  lot  ?  The  rate  of  shrinkage  here  is 


112  THE  AMERICAN   MERINO 

sixty-seven  per  cent.  That  is,  one  hundred  pounds  of  un- 
washed wool  will  yield  thirty-three  pounds  of  scoured.  This 
gives  a  simple  problem  in  the  "  double  rule  of  three."  If  fifty- 
two  pounds  cost  thirty  dollars,  how  much  ought  thirty-three 
pounds  to  cost  ?  52  :  30  : :  33  :  19.03. 

That  is,  the  hundred  pounds  would  have  to  be  bought  for 
nineteen  dollars  and  three  cents,  or  nineteen  and  three-tenths 
cents  a  pound.  This  would  require  a  deduction  of  a  little  over 
one-third  from  the  price  of  washed  wool. 

The  rates  of  shrinkage  in  washing  are  varied  a  great  deal  by 
methods  of  feeding,  by  housing,  by  individual  peculiarities,  by 
modes  and  degrees  of  washing.  These  variations  appear  con- 
spicuously in  Mr.  Breckenridge's  flock,  ranging  from  eight  to 
thirty-three  per  cent.  If  such  differences  exhibit  themselves  in 
the  flock  of  a  man  who  is  a  very  careful  breeder  and  feeder, 
and  who  has  studiously  sought  after  uniformity  of  type,  what 
may  we  not  look  for  in  the  flocks  of  a  whole  county  ?  How 
wide  will  be  the  differentiations  in  a  State  ? 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  seems  little  less  than  a  truism  to 
assert  that  the  "  one-third  rule  "  is  a  very  raw  and  crude  prin- 
ciple on  which  to  conduct  the  purchase  of  wool. 

Shearing  Without  Washing.  —  Col.  F.  D.  Curtis  writes 
vigorously  in  the  Country  Gentleman  on  this  subject : 

"  I  had  an  illustration  of  the  differences  between  sheep  shorn 
and  unshorn,  as  to  comfort  and  growth  of  sheep  and  lambs, 
this  spring.  A  number  of  my  flock  were  sheared  in  April,  and 
the  rest  not  till  the  last  of  Jime,  and  then  before  most  of  my 
neighbors.  Those  sheared  in  April  are  fat,  while  those  which 
carried  their  fleeces  did  not  gain  at  all  in  condition.  I  am  satis- 
tied  that  sheep  should  be  shorn  without  washing,  and  that  they 
should  bo  shorn  by  the  first  of  May,  or  in  any  latitude  before 
they  can  be  turned  out  to  spring  pasture.  Of  course  this  early 
shearing  should  not  take  place  where  there  are  no  provisions 
made  for  sheltering  them.  Where  they  can  be  kept  within  a 
comfortable  enclosure,  they  will  do  better  without  the  hot  and 
debilitating  fleeces.  Their  lambs  will  get  more  milk  ;  the  sheep 
will  be  more  active,  eat  more,  and  have  more  vigor.  I  have 
sheared  sheep  the  first  of  April  (latitude  forty-three  degrees 
north),  and  had  no  trouble.  They  must  be  kept  out  of  the  wind 
and  wet. 

'*  When  shorn  so  early  and  before  going  out  to  pasture,  except 
in  rare  cases,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  tag  them  before  the 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTT02?".  113 

whole  fleece  is  removed.  There  would  be  less  trouble  with 
ewes  if  thev  were  sheared  before  having  their  lambs.  The  little 
lambs  could  get  at  the  teat  much  better,  and  with  a  careful  man 
to  shear  there  would  be  no  risk  in  handling  the  sheep.  Lambs 
are  often  born  after  the  ewes  have  been  both  washed  and 
sheared,  and  do  well.  ******  A  great  deal  of  bother 
can  also  be  saved,  in  trying  to  keep  the  sheep  dry  for  the 
shearer,  who  very  likely  does  not  come.  The  annual  bloating 
and  starving  of  the  sheep  at  shearing  time  can  be  dispensed 
with,  as  the  sheep  can  be  taken  from  the  winter  quarters,  and 
when  shorn  returned  to  them.  I  am  so  impressed  with  the 
advantage  of  early  shearing  in  this  way,  that  I  shall  make  it  a 
rule  to  do  so." 

In  this  section,  Mr.  M.  Palmer,  and  Mr.  J.  Chad  wick — the 
former  after  an  experience  of  more  than  fifty  years  ;  the  latter 
with  one  nearly  as  long — have  discarded  washing,  though  both 
keep  grade  Merinos.  Mr.  Geo.  S.  Corp,  owning  about  six  hun- 
dred grade  Merinos,  has  shorn  them  unwashed,  about  April  1, 
two  years.  He  experienced  a  loss,  one  year,  of  nine  dollars, 
and  a  gain  the  next  year  of  seven  dollars,  saying  nothing  of  the 
great  gain  in  the  condition  of  the  sheep  from  being  shorn  early, 
without  wetting.     He  will  adhere  to  the  practice. 

Modes  of  Washing. — As  we  wash  in  the  river,  we  are  ob- 
liged to  wait  rather  late  for  the  water  to  become  warm  enough. 
The  extreme  dates  which  I  find,  on  referring  to  my  farm  jour- 
nal, are  May  15  and  May  29  ;  the  average  will  range  between 
these  two.  When  the  washing  season  is  at  hand,  I  watch  my 
barometer.  I  want  to  have  reasonable  indications  of  a  spell  of 
rising,  clearing  weather,  and  I  want  to  put  the  sheep  into  the 
water  in  the  beginning  of  that  spell,  so  that  they  may  have  as 
many  days  of  steady  sunshine  as  possible  in  wliich  to  dry  off. 
Washing  in  the  river,  as  I  have  said,  involves  the  necessity  of 
waiting,  but  it  is  a  great  convenience,  especially  if  one  can  have 
a  clean,  gravelly  beach  on  which  to  land  them.  In  most  places 
the  bank  is  so  sloping  that  it  is  necessary  to  build  three  sides 
of  a  pen,  but  we  are  favored  with  an  overhanging  ledge  of  lime- 
stone. Jutting  up  against  this,  we  put  up  three  lines  of  port- 
able fence,  making  pens  which  front  directly  on  the  water. 
We  crowd  the  foremost  flock  down  the  bank  and  keep  them 
huddled  against  the  upper  pen,  while  three  or  four  men  catch 
and  dip,  and  then  pass  them  around  the  projecting  fence  into 
the  first  pen.  They  are  now  passed  into  the  second  pen.  and 
the  men  at  once  proceed  to  washing,  or  else  dip  a  second  flock, 


114  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

bringing  these  latter  into  the  first  pen.   In  either  case  the  sheep 
are  well  soaked  before  the  washing  commences. 

I  frequently  catch  the  flock  of  breeding  ewes  myself,  as  I  am 
unwilling  to  have  them  abused.  (I  should  have  stated  above 
that  we  catch  all  the  sucking  lambs  out  and  leave  them  behind 
in  ttie  sheep  house.)  There  are  men  who,  when  they  stand  in  a 
line  in  the  water  and  pass  the  sheep  from  man  to  man,  will  do 
nothing  but  swing  the  sheep  to  and  fro.  I  watch  the  washers, 
and  instruct  them  to  squeeze  out  every  part  of  the  fleece.  A 
man  need  only  go  out  deep  enough  to  float  the  sheep  off  its  feet, 
then  by  taking  the  wool  between  his  forearms,  he  can  squeeze 
out  considerable  sections  at  once.  They  land  on  a  stony  beach 
and  no  dirt  gets  into  the  wool,  if  they  do  flounder  about.  It  is 
true,  they  travel  home  by  a  dusty  road,  but  the  dust  which  set- 
tles on  them  does  not  amount  to  anything.  We  turn  them  on 
a  clean  sod  pasture  to  dry  off. 

I  have  several  times  had  suckling  ewes  come  home  from 
washing,  hungry,  go  on  a  white  clover  pasture,  eat  greedily, 
and  die  of  hoven  in  a  few  hours. 

Managing  in  this  way,  four  men  and  a  boy  or  two  will  pass 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  through  the  water,  take  up  the 
fence,  and  get  home  by  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
sheep  will  be  washed  clean  ;  that  is,  as  clean  as  cold  water  can 
make  them. 

I  have  seen  an  arrangement  which  would  commend  itself  to 
the  farmer  living  at  a  distance  from  any  large  stream,  since  it 
can  be  employed  on  a  mere  mountain  run  ;  it  consisted  of  a 
plank  box  ten  feet  long,  six  feet  wide,  and  deep  enough  to  swim 
the  sheep.  The  stream  was  dammed  up,  some  distance  above 
the  place,  and  while  the  reservoir  thus  made  was  filling,  a  hole 
was  dug  out  and  plank  fitted  in,  as  described  above.  Steps  at 
the  end  led  to  the  bottom  of  the  box,  for  taking  in  the  sheep, 
and  when  washed  they  were  let  out  on  an  inclined  plane  made 
of  rough  boards,  with  strips  nailed  on  to  prevent  slipping. 
Here  the  water  was  squeezed  from  the  wool,  and  the  sheep 
passed  out  upon  clean  sward.  Some  arrangement  of  this  kind 
is  better  (for  a  small  flock),  than  to  drive  them  a  long  distance, 
over  a  dusty  road,  and  expose  them  to  the  danger  of  contracting 
the  foot-rot  or  some  other  contagion  from  "  scalawag''  flocks. 

Some  writers  recommend  a  waterfall  and  a  spout,  under 
which  the  sheep  can  be  held  and  washed  by  a  man,  without 
getting  into  the  water  himself.  If  a  man  is  afraid  of  a  wetting, 
he  can  pursue  this  course  ;   but  the  sheep  will  not  be  nearly  as 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTOX.  115 

well  washed  as  it  would  be  if  taken  into  deep  water.  If  the 
washers  can  keep  their  bodies  dry,  they  are  not  nearly  so  liable 
to  receive  injury  from  their  prolonged  wetting. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
SHEARING  AND  DOING  UP  WOOL. 

Length  of  Time  Between  Washing  and  Shearing. — How 
long  a  time  should  be  allowed  to  elapse  between  washing  and 
shearing,  is  a  question  which  must  be  determined  by  circum- 
etances.  If  the  washing  was  done  with  thoroughness,  the 
fleece  was  depiived  of  that  modicum  of  yolk  to  which  it  is  in 
fairness  entitled  to  impart  to  it  luster,  elasticity,  and,  ir  gen- 
eral, a  good  style  ;  and  the  farmer  has  a  perfect  right  to  allow 
his  flocks  to  linger  in  the  pasture  until  the  sunshine  has  brought 
out  the  oily  exudation,  and  until  capillary  attraction  and  the 
motion  of  the  fibers  one  upon  another  have  distributed  it  to  the 
extremities.  More  than  this  honesty  does  not  permit.  When 
the  wool  has  reached  that  condition  of  oiliness  which  may  be 
found  in  a  fine,  healthy  head  of  hair,  on  which  a  daily  brushing 
has  kept  the  natural  oil  distributed  through  its  entire  length, 
then,  and  not  before,  it  should  be  shorn.  What  then  shall  be 
said  of  those  flock-masters,  who  both  keep  such  gummy  flocks 
and  so  imperfectly  wash  them,  that  at  shearing  time  the  yolk 
may  not  only  be  seen  glistening  along  the  fibers  in  pellucid 
globules  like  glycerine,  but  even  coagulated  in  yellow,  pasty 
masses?  Much  depends  on  the  weather  after  washing.  If  the 
Bun  is  hot,  ten  days  will  be  a  long  enough  interval ;  if  the 
weather  is  cool  and  cloudy,  two  weeks  will  not  be  too  long  a 
period. 

General  Manageiment. — It  is  extremely  convenient  to  have 
a  pasture  close  at  hand,  from  which  the  sheep  can  be  brought 
up  in  small  flocks  as  needed  by  the  shearers.  Thus  they  will 
keep  full  bellies,  and  the  shearers  will  be  troubled  with  fewer 
wrinkles.  If  a  shower  is  threatening,  of  course  the  sheep  will 
have  to  be  closely  housed  over  night.  In  *'  catching  weather," 
we  have  frequently  had  to  keep  them  confined  until  they  became 


118  THE    A.MERICAX   MEUIXO 

very  hungry  and  hoUo-w.  Of  course,  also,  the  sbeep-house  will 
be  kept  well  littered.  This  is  essential  throughout  the  house, 
but  is  especially  important  in  the  limited  space  where  they  are 
crowded  in,  a  few  at  a  time,  to  be  caught.  If  the  litter  is 
replenished  here  every  few  hours,  it  will  clean  off  their  feet  so 
that  they  will  not  foul  the  shearing- table.  We  generally  fence 
off  this  small  space  simply  with  hay- boxes,  and  suspend  an 
empty  barrel  in  the  passage-way  through  which  the  shearers 
enter.  My  shearing-table  is  about  five  feet  wide,  by  fifteen  feet 
long,  and  is  supported  on  trestles  which  bring  the  table  about 
up  to  the  shearers  knees.  Now  and  then  a  shearer  prefers  to 
take  his  sheep  right  on  the  floor. 

The  reader  may  or  may  not  be  familiar  with  a  contrivance 
for  holding  the  sheep  fast  during  the  operation  of  shearing.  It 
consists  of  a  large  wooden  bowl,  in  which  the  animal  is  set  on 
its  buttock  and  which  prevents  it  from  kicking.  To  this  bowl 
is  attached  a  frame  like  a  chairback,  both  bowl  and  frame 
revolving  on  a  pivot  in  the  centre  of  the  bowl.  A  strap  passes 
diagonally  across  the  frame,  by  which  the  sheep  is  lashed  to  it. 
This  relieves  the  shearer  of  the  strain  of  holding  the  sheep  in 
position.  By  unbuttoning  the  strap,  the  sheep  can  be  reversed 
for  the  other  side  to  be  sliorn. 

I  observe  that  our  best  shearers  proceed  with  the  fleece  as 
follows  :  Beginning  on  tlie  brisket,  they  shear  down  past  the 
arm-pits,  and  then  from  right  to  left  clear  across  the  belly  in 
successive  clips  or  strips,  until  the  whole  belly  piece  is  taken  off 
and  left  hanging  on  the  left  side  of  the  fleece.  Then  they  open 
up  the  neck,  and  beginning  at  the  ears,  shear  nec-k  and  bodr  to 
the  rump  on  the  left  side,  running  the  shears  round  to  the  Dack- 
bone,  and  holding  them  in  such  a  position  that  me  clips  or 
flutes  left  by  them  are  parallel  with  the  ribs,  not  only  on  the 
body,  but  on  the  neck.  Then  turning  the  sheep  over,  they  shear 
the  right  side  in  the  same  manner.  When  clipped  in  this  way, 
the  sheep  presents  a  zebra-like  appearance,  which  is  commend- 
able for  its  regularity  and  workman-like  neatness. 

Much  depends  on  the  manner  of  shearing.  The  wool  should 
not  be  cut  twice,  as  this  injures  the  appearance  of  the  fleece 
when  done  up,  also  lessens  its  value  to  the  manufacturer,  as 
there  will  be  more  or  less  waste  in  the  combs  and  cards.  The 
shearer  should  keep  the  fleece  together,  not  parting  it  on  the 
shoulder  as  some  do.  I  have  seen  sliearers  open  the  fleece  on 
the  right  shoulder,  running  up  the  neck  from  the  middle  of  this 
shoulder,  and  shearing  to  the  middle  of  the  left  shoulder,  and 


FOE   TTOOL   AK-D   MrTTON^.  117 

by  the  time  the  fleece  was  off  this  part  was  in  pieces.  I  would 
give  all  such  shearers  the  "  go-by."  Both  shoulders  should  be 
left  whole,  as  here  is  the  finest  wool  of  the  fleece.  Neither 
Bhould  the  shearer  cut  a  second  time  the  portions  clipped  over 
in  the  spring  in  tagging  ;  the  wool  is  so  short  here  that  it  is  of 
no  value,  and  if  httle  locks  of  it  are  seen  about  the  fleece  they 
give  a  suspicion  of  chipping  or  mincing. 

Sorting  and  :Marking  Sheep.— Now  is  the  time  above  all 
others  in  the  year  for  the  flock-master  to  subject  the  sheep  to  a 
critical  examination,  with  a  view  to  determine  whether  it  is 
worthy  of  being  longer  retained.  I  find  either  of  the  following 
methods  good  :  Have  a  rope  hanging  before  each  shearer  with 
a  strap  at  the  end  of  it.  which  can  be  buckled  around  the  sheep 
just  behind  the  forelegs  in  such  a  manner  as  to  allow  only  its 
hind  feet  to  touch  the  floor.  This  will  keep  it-  from  escaping 
until  the  master,  who  is  supposed  to  be  occupied  tying  the 
fleeces,  can  find  leisure  to  inspect  the  fleece  and  put  such  mark 
upon  the  sheep  as  he  may  wish.  But  a  better  way  would  be 
for  him  to  turn  over  the  tying  to  an  experienced  operator,  and 
give  his  attention  altogether  to  the  inspection  and  marking  of 
the  sheep.  I  have  a  small  grocer's  scale  on  a  low  table,  with  a 
platform  of  light  boards  attached,  on  which  the  shearer  can 
deposit  the  fleece.  A  single  glance  will  reveal  whether  the 
weight  of  it  comes  up  to  the  required  standard  or  not,  and  a 
mark  can  then  be  affixed  to  the  sheep  accordingly. 

The  average  flock-master,  who  does  not  care  to  go  to  the  ex- 
pense of  having  his  flock  entered  in  some  one  or  more  of  the 
fashionable  Registers,  will  scarcely  find  ifc  worth  while  to  fol- 
low any  complicated  system  of  record,  such  as  is  recommended 
by  Dr.  Randall.  If  he  wishes  to  observe  a  system  of  number- 
ing, he  will  hardly  find  anything  better  for  the  purpose  than 
Dana's  ear-labels.  If  the  breeding  flock  is  so  small  as  to  require 
only  one  ram,  the  owner  has  no  option,  and  will  not  be  required 
to  institute  any  very  fine  discriminations  among  his  ewes.  But 
if  it  is  large  enough  to  demand  the  services  of  several  rams,  it 
will  then  be  advisable  to  record  in  a  book  a  few  points,  as 
"length  of  staple,"  "  yolkiness,"  ''density,"  etc.,  with  a  view 
to  assigning  each  ewe  to  such  a  ram  as  shall  be  most  likely  to 
correct  her  deficiencies. 

After  trying  several  different  plans  of  marking,  I  have 
adopted  substantially  the  following :  I  employ  red  lead,  or 
Venetian  red,  with  linseed  oil ;  tar  is  highly  objectionable,  since 
it  makes  a  lasting  clot  which  has  to  be  clipped  off  before  the 


118  THE   AMERICA:?^   MERINO 

fleece  can  be  used  by  the  manufacturer.  First,  I  affix  the  letter 
of  ownership — on  the  left  hip  for  a  ewe,  on  the  left  shoulder  for 
a  wether.  It  is  important  to  mark  all  sheep  on  the  same  side, 
so  that  the  eyes  of  the  master  can  catch  the  mark  readily  as 
they  circle  around  him.  In  addition  to  this,  I  stamp  on  the 
right  hip  the  letter  O,  denoting  that  the  animal  falls  below  the 
standard  and  is  to  be  drafted.  I  use  the  same  letter  during  the 
lambing  season,  to  designate  a  ewe  which  has  shown  herself 
unfit  for  further  service  as  a  breeder.  The  selection  of  two- 
year-old  ewes  for  the  breeding  flock  next  fall  should  be  guided 
more  by  the  form  than  by  the  fleece,  but  the  latter  is  important, 
and  unless  the  breeder  keeps  a  book  record  of  each  member  of 
his  flock,  he  ought  to  affix  at  shearing  some  mark  to  denote  an 
extra  shearer. 

Folding  the  Fleece.  —There  should  be  near  the  wool-press 
a  table  or  platform  of  ample  size,  on  which  fleeces  may  be 
deposited  and  spread  out  for  folding.  No  fleece  ought  to  be 
divided,  however  large  it  may  be,  for  the  sorter  wishes  to  have 
the  whole  fleece  before  him,  in  order  that  he  may  divide  it 
correctly  into  the  different  sorts.  But  it  is  permissible*  to  de- 
tach the  belly-piece  for  convenience  in  shearing,  if  it  is  fol.ded 
into  its  proper  place  in  the  fleece. 

Tags,  Etc. — The  best  course  for  the  farmer  to  pursue  in 
respect  to  that  bone  of  contention,  the  tags,  is  to  .sort  out  care- 
fully all  very  thick  "sweat-locks,"  and  the  tags  which  are 
hard  with  dung,  and  wash  them  separately.  Then  the  cleaner 
portions  of  the  tags  can  be  washed  by  themselves  very  much  in 
the  mode  and  measure  of  the  wool  on  the  sheep's  back.  The 
sweat-locks  and  the  most  objectionable  tags  should  be  put  to 
soak  in  soft  water  for  twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours,  then 
washed  out  two  or  three  times  in  warm  soap-suds,  and  wrung 
out  with  a  clothes-wringer.  By  this  means  they  can  be  ren- 
dered white  ;  whereas,  if  washed  all  together  with  cold  water, 
the  whole  mass  has  a  greenish  cast,  which  is  very  objectionable 
to  buyers.  Tags  washed  thus  thoroughly  are  perfectly  entitled 
to  be  put  inside  the  fleeces,  a  handful  in  each. 

Dead  or  j)ulled  wool  should  be  kept  separate,  because  all  parts 
of  the  fleece  are  mingled  together,  can  not  be  sorted,  and  con- 
sequently grade  about  on  a  par  with  the  lowest ;  for  this  reason 
I  prefer  to  remove  the  pelt  from  a  dead  sheep,  as  this  retains 
every  sort  of  wool  in  its  own  position.  With  the  pulled  wool 
may  be  put  all  the  bits  from  the  shearing-table  which  are  worth 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTOK.  119 

picking  up  at  all,  for  the  hairy  locks  clipped  from  the  legs  are 
fit  only  for  the  manure-heap. 

No  wool  which  is  damp  with  maggots,  dew,  rain,  urine,  or 
dung,  ought  to  be  rolled  up  in  the  fleece  ;  it  will  heat  and  im- 
part to  it  a  dark  color  and  an  offensive  odor.  Tag-locks  which 
consist  mostly  of  dung  (being  different  from  "sweat-locks," 
which  are  entitled  to  go  with  the  fleece),  are  worth  only  four 
cents  a  pound,  and  ought  to  be  excluded.  "  Cots  and  common  " 
form  the  coarsest  grades  of  wool ;  the  hard-matted  locks  have 
to  b3  broken  up  by  machinery  before  they  can  be  used,  and  are 
then  fit  only  for  the  lowest  kind  of  goods.  On  these  fleeces  the 
buyer  will  probably  insist  on  a  reduction  of  at  least  five  cents 
per  pound.  The  hard  clot-bur  ought  to  be  pulled  out  (if  the 
farmer  is  so  negligent  as  to  allow  this  to  grow  and  get  into  the 
wool,  he  had  better  remove  it  before  shearing),  but  for  the 
beggar-lice  {Cynoglossum  Ilorisoni),  there  is  not  much  help, 
though  it  injures  goods  by  specking  them. 

It  is  the  folder's  task  to  spread  out  the  fleece  on  the  table, 
weather  side  uppermost,  clip  off  all  the  dung-balls,  gather  it  as 
nearly  as  possible  into  the  shape  and  density  which  it  had  on 
the  animal's  back,  and  then  fold  it  for  the  press.  The  breech  is 
folded  over  first,  next  the  flank,  then  the  neck,  and  lastly  the 
flank  to  which  is  attached  the  belly-piece  (the  belly-piece  ought 
to  be  where  the  sorter  can  find  and  remove  it  before  he  unfolds 
the  entire  fleece).  The  fleece  ought  now  to  be  about  square. 
Across  the  middle  of  this  square  the  folder  lays  his  left  arm, 
and  with  a  dextrous  motion  of  the  right,  folds  (not  rolls),  one 
half  upon  the  other.  Working  an  arm  under  each  end  of  the 
fleece,  he  lifts  it  from  the  table  with  the  two  edges  of  the  fold 
against  his  breast,  and  lays  it  in  the  press. 

Wool- Press. — In  my  own  practice,  I  have  been  able  to  do  up 
wool  most  satisf  actorfly  with  what  may  be  called  a  rolling  press 
(in  contradistinction  to  a  flat  press),  shown  in  figure  8.  The 
outline  dimensions  are  as  follows  :  The  table  is  two  feet  six 
inches  high,  two  feet  two  inches  wide,  and  four  feet  long.  The 
leaves  are  four  feet  long  and  one  foot  wide.  The  box  inclosed 
between  the  leaves  is  eleven  inches  wide.  The  head  piece  c  c  c, 
which  is  concave  on  the  inside  to  adjust  itself  to  the  circum- 
ference of  the  fleece,  is  six  and  one-half  inches  high.  The  side- 
pieces  of  the  table  project  far  enough  beyond  the  end  to  sup- 
port the  roUer,  e,  which  is  three  inches  in.  diameter  at  the  thick- 
est part,  tapering  slightly  toward  the  ends.  The  drop  leaf,  b  &, 
is  hinged,  and  falls  forward  toward  the  operator.     When  the 


120 


THE    AMERICAN   MERI]S"0 


fleece  is  placed  in  position  the  drop-leaf  is  raised  to  a  i3erpen- 
dicular,  where  it  is  held  by  the  upright,  /,  which  works  on  a 
roller.  This  roller  might  be  placed  in  the  top  of  the  table 
legs,  instead  of  being  a  few  inches  from  them,  as  in  the  en- 


graving. 


The  fleece  being  now  in  the  box,  the  leather  band,  d  d,  (six 


OQ 
«Q 

f 

o 


CO 


feet  long  and  eleven  inches  wide)  is  carried  forward  over  it,  and 
the  loop  in  the  end  is  fastened  to  the  roller  bj"  a  little  iron  hook. 
One  end  of  the  band  being  fastened  to  the  head-piece,  when  the 
other  end  is  wound  up  on  the  roller  it  draws  the  fleece  down 
into  a  tight  drum-shaped  package.  The  strings,  g,  entering  the 
three  holes  in  the  table  frame,  pass  up  through  three  others  in 


FOR   AYOOL   AXD   MUTTON".  121 

the  bottom  of  the  box  at  8,  4,  5,  and  so  along  under  the  fleece 
to  the  head-piece,  being  fastened  in  creases  at  the  top  of  it.  The 
leather  band  has  three  shts  in  it,  through  which  the  ends  of  the 
strings  can  be  reached  with  the  ri^ht  hand,  wliile  the  left  brings 
up  the  slack,  and  the  knots  are  tied  on  the  top  of  the  fleece. 

The  ratchet  is  now  lifted,  the  roller  runs  back,  the  band  is 
detached  and  thrown  off,  the  drop-leaf  is  let  down,  and  the 
strings  cut  with  the  knife,  which  should  be  kept  lying  at  the 
foot  of  the  head  piece  under  the  fleece.  The  strings  are  nou^ 
drawn  up  and  fastened  in  their  creases,  and  the  press  is  ready  to 
receive  another  fleece.  I  find  it  an  advantage  to  let  the  twine 
pay  out  from  the  inside  of  the  ball  instead  of  the  outside. 

If  the  fleece  was  properly  folded  according  t:)  the  above 
directions,  it  will  come  out  from  the  press  a  cylinder  (a  better 
shape  than  a  cube),  and  it  will  be  so  bound  in  one  part  by 
another  that  bulging  or  bursting  is  almost  impossible. 

Storing. — A  wool-room  need  not  necessarily  be  ornate,  but  it 
should  be  of  ample  size,  convenient  to  the  shearing-room,  and 
made  of  dressed  lumber.  It  ought  to  be  furnished  with  win- 
dows, and  yet  so  made  that  it  can  be  shut  up  perfectly  dark  and 
tight  enough  to  exclude  bumble-bees,  mice  and  rats,  which  are 
fond  of  burrowing  in  wool.  If  on  the  ground  floor,  it  should  be 
so  high  that  rats  can  not  bank  up  the  earth  underneath  to 
touch  the  floor,  as  this  will  cause  the  wool  to  mold.  But  if 
space  on  the  ground  is  considered  too  valuable  to  be  appropriated 
to  a  room  which  is  used  only  for  a  few  months,  it  may  be  con- 
structed overhead,  and  the  fleeces  pitched  up  one  by  one  from 
the  press ;  or  the  sheep  may  be  hoisted  into  the  second  story  by 
an  elevator  and  be  shorn  there,  as  in  a  sheep-house  to  be 
described  hereafter. 

The  important  point  in  storing  wool  is,  to  have  the  pile  of 
such  shape  that  the  buyer  can,  if  he  wishes,  inspect  every  fleece 
without  moving  it  from  its  place.  The  best  contrivance  I  have 
seen  for  this  purpose,  is  one  which  is  emj^loyed  by  Mr.  C.  0. 
Smith,  of  Waterford,  Ohio.  This  consists  of  a  double  row  of 
upright  studding,  running  across  the  room  nearly  to  the  wall  at 
each  end.  These  studs  are  framed  together  into  something  like  a 
com-crib,  the  width  of  which  is  only  sufiicient  to  accomodate 
one  average  fleece.  This  frame-work  consists  of  smooth,  light 
slats,  stretching  across  between  the  studding,  far  enough  apart 
to  prevent  a  fleece  from  slipping  between,  and  all  of  them  in- 
clined inward  like  the  slats  of  window-shutters.  This  inclined 
position  allows  the  fleeces  to  settle  smoothly.    The  slats  can  all 


IZZ  THE   AMERICAX   MERI]S'0 

be  taken  out  down  to  the  floor,  and  then  slipped  into  place  one 
after  another  as  the  fleeces  are  piled  up. 

Fleeces  stored  this  way  will  lose  from  two  to  three  per  cent, 
in  weight  m  the  course  of  six  montlisj  while  a  large  pile  close  to 
the  ground  will  shrink  principally  in  the  outside  fleeces,  and 
those  in  the  interior  will  retain  sufficient  moisture  to  keep  the 
shrinkage  of  the  whole  somewhere  naar  one  per  cent.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  very  yolky  wool  will  shrink  more  than  the 
dry  and  light.  I  once  had  a  pile  of  ram's  fleeces  lose  about  two 
and  three-quarters  per  cent,  in  sixty-four  days. 

Speed  in  SHEARiNa. — The  neatest  shearer  in  the  county  in 
which  I  reside,  once  sheared  for  me  fifty-eight  head  inside  of 
ten  working  hours  ;  they  were  about  three-quarter  bloods.  I 
challenge  any  man  to  leave  a  sheep  in  better  shape  than  he  does. 
In  his  prime,  he  averaged  forty-five  to  fifty  a  day.  Another 
noted  shearer  in  this  county,  has  sheared  over  seventy  Saxons 
in  one  day— seventy-seven,  if  I  remember  rightly.  But  of  such 
grades  as  are  generally  found  in  this  county,  an  average  good 
shearer,  working  by  the  head,  will  clip  thirt3'-five  to  forty  in  a 
day.  The  practice  of  *' paying  by  the  head"  leads  to  racing 
between  the  shearers  and  a  slighting  of  their  work.  Leg-wool 
is  of  no  value,  it  is  true,  but  a  shearer  who  does  not  trim  it  off 
neatly,  as  well  as  that  from  the  body,  should  be  dismissed.  It 
is  best  to  employ  capable  and  conscientious  shearers,  and  pay 
them  by  the  day.  Six  cents  a  head,  or  two  dollars  a  day  is 
commonly  paid  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

Where  to  Sell  Wool. — The  average  farmer  will  almost 
invariably  find  it  to  his  interest  to  sell  his  clip  in  his  own  wool- 
room,  unless  the  amount  of  it  is  so  small  tliat  he  can  transport 
it  to  and  fro  in  a  wagon.  Warned  by  the  example  of  neigh- 
bors, I  have  never  shipped  a  clip  to  a  storing-house  or  commis- 
sion-house. After  his  wool  has  once  passed  from  his  sight,  the 
farmer  is  practically  powerless  ;  he  had  better  make  up  his  mind 
to  accept  without  complaint  whatever  is  tendered.  But  in  his 
own  wool-room,  especially  if  the  clip  is  thoroughly  good,  he  is 
independent. 

QUALIIES  AND  GRADES  OF  WooL.— It  may  be  well  to  give 
here  a  brief  extract  from  a  little  book  on  wool,  issued  by  a  wool 
commission  firm  of  Philadelphia,  Messrs.  W.  C.  Houston,  Jr., 
&Co. 

"  In  any  section  or  State  all  the  wools  are  bought  at  about  the 
same  figure,  whereas  one  clip  will  often  be  worth  five  cents  per 


FOR  WOOL  AXD   KUTTOif.  123 

pound  more  than  another,  on  account  of  growth  and  condition. 
By  growth  is  meant  the  length,  strength  and  elasticity  of  the 
staple,  the  working  properties  of  the  wool,  and  whether  it  is 
healthy  and  of  good  grade,  or  weak,  coarse  and  of  wild  and 
*  frowsy  '  character.  By  condition  is  meant  whether  the  fleeces 
are  light  and  bright,  or  heavy  with  grease  and  dirt,  or  dark  in 
color.  Condition  relates  chiefly  to  shrinkage  in  scouring  for 
goods.  The  more  a  fleece  loses  in  scouring,  the  less  it  is  worth 
to  a  manufactm-er,  on  account  of  the  smaller  percentage  of  cle-an 
wool  it  yields.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  jDoor  or  heavy  con- 
dition may  overcome  the  advantages  of  good  growth.  Wool 
may  be  of  good  growth  hke  some  breeders'  clips  of  well-bred 
Merino,  but  heavy  with  grease,  and  therefore  poor  in  condition. 
And  similarly,  wool  may  be  light  and  bright  (in  good  condition), 
but  havmg  a  wild,  coarse  or  weak  staple,  will  be  of  poor  growth. 
If  a  fleece  is  wild  and  poorly  grown,  it  wfl]  go  into  low-priced 
goods,  no  matter  how  light  it  is,  so  that  poor  growth  may  be 
counterbalanced  by  good  condition. 

"  Good  growth  (sound,  healthy  staple)  and  good  condition  (a 
light,  bright  fleece)  make  up  the  first  requisites  of  good  wool. 
The  growth  and  condition  depend  on  care  and  intelligence  in 
breeding,  and  also,  considerably,  on  the  locality  where  the  wool 
is  grown.  In  wild  or  prairie  sections,  the  wool  is  apt  to  be 
'brashy'  (weak  staple  and  of  wild  growth),  and  is  generally 
discolored  by  the  soil  ;  while  in  localities  more  under  cultiva- 
tion the  wool  is  apt  to  be  of  better  growth  and  brighter.  This 
is  one  of  the  reasons  why  Ohio  produces  better  wool  than  Wis- 
consin or  Minnesota.  As  the  land  of  a  section  is  brought  more 
under  cultivation,  the  wools  improve.  But  this  must  be  sup- 
plemented by  proper  attention  to  breeding  ;  for  we  have  received 
some  lots  of  unwashed  from  Iowa,  that  were  better  in  grade  and 
condition  than  shipments  from  Indiana  and  Illinois. 

"  The  terms  'growth  '  and  *  condition '  being  understood,  we 
pass  to  grades.  Fine  is  the  full-blood  Merino.  In  well  and 
high-bred  washed  wools,  fine  is  sub-divided  into  X  and  XX, 
according  to  the  fineness  of  the  fiber.  Fine  ddaiiie  is  the  elas- 
tic and  long  staple  fiber,  of  about  two  and  one-half  inches  in 
length  throughout  the  whole  fleece,  ilfediwm  is  a  three-eighths  to 
one-half  blood  Merino  cross.  The  proper  crossing  of  full-blood 
Merino  on  a  coarse-wool  sheep  produces  medium  grade.  Medium 
combing  is  the  long  staple  of  the  medium  grade,  about  three  and 
a  half  inches  in  length.     A  cross  of  Merino  and  Leicester  gives 


124  THE   AMERICANS'   MERIXO 

medium  combing — tlie  Merino  giving  fineness  of  fiber  and  the 
Leicester  length  of  staple. 

•'  Quarter  blood  may  be  called  a  mongrel  wool ;  like  a  cur 
dog,  it  has  no  defined  characteristic  of  breed.  It  is  generally 
wool  of  common  sheep,  that  don't  contain  enough  Merino  blood 
to  class  as  medium.  Quarter  may  be  a  run-out  medium,  or  a 
coarse  sheep  not  yet  sufficiently  graded  up  with  Merino  blood. 
It  is  of  a  wilder  and  not  so  close  a  growth  as  medium.  It  is 
difficult  for  our  western  friends  to  make  tlie  distinction  between 
medium  and  quarter  blood.  In  the  West  all  wool  between  the 
fine  and  extremely  coarse  fleeces  is  classed  as  medium  ;  whereas 
here  that  range  is  split  into  a  medium  and  quarter  blood,  the 
bulk  of  the  wool  sometimes  going  to  the  latter  grade.  We  can 
hardly  make  the  difference  more  clear  than  we  have,  except  to 
add  that  in  a  real  medium  the  Merino  blood  can  be  distinguished 
in  the  fiber  of  the  wool ;  whereas  in  quarter  blood  the  Merino 
characteristic  has  entirely  died  out,  if  it  ever  was  there.  Quar- 
ter is  a  wild,  coarse  wool,  as  contrasted  with  medium,  which  is 
a  closer  and  finer  growth,  approaching  Merino.  Coarse  or 
quarter  combing  is  the  long  staple  of  quarter  blood  grade. 
Common  is  the  rough,  hairy  wool  and  cotted  or  matted  fleeces. 
It  is  often  a  run-out  Cotswold,  and  this  grade  is  found  mostly 
in  coarse  sections  and  in  flocks  that  are  run  out.  Common 
combing  is  the  long,  hairy  wool,  on  the  order  of  fuU-blood  Cots- 
wold and  Canada. 

"  The  grades  fine,  medium,  quarter  and  common,  apply  to 
all  wools.  In  unwashed  wool  there  is  little  or  no  difference  in 
the  price  of  combing  and  its  corresponding  grade  of  clothing, 
and  the  only  advantage  of  taking  out  the  combing  is  that  it  can 
be  run  a  little  lower  than  clothing.  For  instance,  medium 
clothing  and  combing  sell  at  the  same  price,  but  as  what  is 
known  as  medium  combing,  is  made  almost  a  grade  lower  than 
medium  clothing,  we  can  sell  more  medium  wool  by  making  a 
medium  combing  ;  the  same  holds  true  of  quarter  clothing  and 
combing.  In  well-bred  washed  wools,  the  combing  is  worth 
more  than  the  clothing,  because  it  grades  up  better.  Fine 
delaine  is  practically  never  taken  out  of  unwashed  wools  ;  and 
in  fine  washed,  that  is  not  well-bred  and  well-grown,  there  is 
rarely  any  to  take  out.  Neither  combing  nor  delaine  are  made 
out  of  dark,  heavy,  or  poorly-grown  wools,  because  the  staple 
is  generally  weak,  brashy,  or  not  of  sufficient  elasticity." 

Sacking  and  Transportation. — If  the  clip  is  too  small  to 
justify  the  trouble,  or  has  to  be  transported  only  a  short  dis- 


FOE   WOOL   AND   MUTTOJT.  125 

tance  to  market,  it  may  be  hauled  tolerably  well  on  a  hay-rack, 
if  care  is  used  in  stowing  the  fleece.  It  is  better,  however,  to 
sack  it.  Custom  requires  the  buyer  to  do  this  on  the  farmer's 
premises,  unless  it  is  otherwise  stipulated  in  the  bargain ;  in- 
deed, few  farmers  have  the  apphances  necessary  in  sacking. 
For  convenience  in  sacking,  it  is  well  to  have  the  wool-room  oil 
the  second  floor  ;  and  in  the  floor  a  circular  trap-door,  two  feet 
in  diameter.  The  sack  is  hung  down  through  this,  swinging 
clear  of  the  floor  beneath,  and  supported  by  ita  edges  lapped 
under  an  iron  hoop  with  an  inside  diameter  the  same  as  that  of 
the  trap  door.  After  five  or  six  fleeces  have  been  tlirown  down 
into  the  sack,  a  man  descends  into  it,  arranges  and  treads  on 
them,  and  so  continues  until  the  sack  is  filled.  It  istlien  raised 
a  little  with  a  lever  underneath,  the  mouth  secured  with 
clamps,  the  hoop  removed,  and  the  sack  is  then  lowered  to  the 
floor  and  the  mouth  sewed  up  with  twine.  Cobs  placed  in  the 
corners  of  the  sack  at  the  bottom  furnish  convenient  hand- 
holds. The  implements  required  are,  a  canvas-needle,  two 
wool-boards,  with  a  half -circle  cut  out  of  each  (for  use  in  case 
the  sacks  have  to  be  suspended  between  joists  or  timbers,  or  a 
temporary  frame-work),  iron  clamps  with  leather  straps,  and  a 
hoop  of  half-inch,  round  bar-iron. 


CHAPTEE    XIII. 

SUIVIMER  MANAGEMENT. 

Sheep  as  Scavengers. — When  old  fields  have  become  over- 
grown with  briers  and  bushes,  and  the  farmer  desires  to  extir- 
pate them,  sheep  will  do  the  work  for  him  better  than  any 
other  stock,  but  they  will  sometimes  require  assistance.  If 
brier-clumps  are  very  thick  or  very  high,  the  flock  cannot  do 
the  work  unaided.  The  bushes  must  be  mown  and  burned,  or, 
if  well  filled  at  the  bottom  with  dead  leaves  and  grass,  they 
can  be  fired  in  a  dry  time,  and,  if  some  pains  are  taken  to  beat 
down  the  green  ones  as  the  fire  is  burning,  the  whole  clump  can 
be  C(>nsumed.  The  young  shoots  which  sprout  up  in  the  ash- 
heap  will  be  eaten  off  by  the  sheep  much  more  thoroughly  than 
those  growing  where  there  are  no  ashes.  I  have  found  it  one  of 
the  best  ways  of  renewing  old  moss-bound  pastures,  to  fire  them 


126  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

in  a  dry  spell  in  the  spring,  when  there  is  diy  herbage  enough 
on  the  ground  to  carry  the  flame  ;  then  let  the  sheep  have  the 
range  of  them  through  the  summer.  They  take  a  great  deal  of 
satisfaction  in  grazing,  sleeping  and  stamping  in  the  burnt  dis- 
trict ;  and,  as  above  stated,  they  w^ill  take  much  more  pains  to 
crop  off  the  sprouts  here  than  they  will  in  unburned  territory. 
The  ashes  must  give  them  a  relish  ;  probably  it  is  the  greater 
percentage  of  potash  they  contain,  since  sheep  are  noted  for 
their  fondness  for  and  need  of  certain  mineral  ingredients  in 
their  feed.  I  have  often  observed  their  relish  for  tliese  ash- 
fertilized  plants  ;  they  return  to  them  again  and  again,  crop- 
ping them  down  close  to  the  ground,  where  they  would  scarcely 
taste  them  if  growing  in  the  open  field. 

Every  observing  shepherd  has  noticed  that  sheep  have  their 
decided  preferences  in  a  rolling  or  hilly  pasture,  generally 
choosing  a  southern  or  eastern  slope.  Old  farmers  will  tell  you 
it  is  because  the  grass  on  these  poorer,  thinner  exposures  is 
shorter  and  sweeter.  Probably  this  is  one  reason,  but  I  cannot 
help  thinking  there  is  another.  These  southern  slopes  are 
nearly  always  wind-swept  and  sun-burned,  and  receive  no  stay- 
ing deposits  of  forest  leaves  ;  hence  the  bed-rock  is  close  to  the 
surface,  and  frequently  crops  out  in  shelly  ledges.  This  char- 
acter of  the  soil  gives  the  grass  a  more  mineral  and  earthy 
quality  than  is  possessed  by  that  growing  on  the  north  slopes  ; 
for  on  these  the  soil  is  generally  red  clay,  and  strong  with  the 
humus  or  vegetable  mold  resulting  from  the  rotted  forest  leaves 
of  centuries.  And  the  fondness  of  sheep  for  mineral  ingredients 
in  their  feed  was  above  alluded  to.  Hence  they  linger  on  these 
naked,  wind  swept,  southern  slopes,  nibbling  the  already  scanty 
grass  into  the  very  ground,  and  neglecting  the  rich,  rank  feed 
on  the  northern  slopes  until  they  are  fairly  "starved  to  it," 
often  to  the  wonder  and  annoyance  of  the  shepherd. 

In  general,  sheep  are  so  nice  in  their  tastes  and  preferences 
that  a  pasture  of  any  considerable  extent,  especially  if  it  has  a 
diversity  of  soils  and  exposures,  is  apt  to  become  patchy  if  left 
entirely  to  the  sheep.  They  are  fond  of  knolls  for  stamping- 
grounds  and  sleeping-grounds,  and  will  manure  them  to  excess 
if  they  have  their  own  way. 

There  are  various  ways  of  regulating  these  matters.  A  port- 
able fence  might  do  good  service  here  ;  I  never  tried  it.  A  few 
young  cattle  with  the  sheep  will  give  their  attention  to  the 
north  slopes  and  the  rank  pasture  spots,  while  the  sheep  are 
grazing  on  the  shorter  feed.     The  sheep  themselves  will  dcpas- 


FOR   WOOL  A:N'D   MUTTOi^".  127 

ture  these  northern  slopes  in  the  fall  when  feed  grows  scarce  ; 
but  meantime  much  grass  has  grown  up  and  died,  so  goiug  to, 
waste ;  and  the  briers  make  their  whole  summer  growth  un- 
checked. 

I  have  found  it  an  advantage  to  run  a  permanent  fence  be- 
tween the  north  and  the  south  slopes,  so  compelling  the  sheep 
to  divide  their  time  between  them.  Still,  they  will  hang  along 
the  fence  for  hours,  sleeping  by  it,  waiting  and  watching  for  a 
chance  to  get  through.  So,  as  a  still  better  measure,  I  generally 
keep  one  of  my  flocks  in  ignorance  of  the  existence  of  certain 
south  slopes,  by  never  turning  them  on  them  ;  thus,  when  it 
comes  their  turn  to  occupy  the  contiguous  north  slopes,  in  the 
rapid  rotation  which  it  is  my  policy  to  keep  up  during  the  sum- 
mer, they  graze  there  quiet  and  contented. 

I  am  always  more  careful  to  keep  the  large  briers  and  shoots 
cut  on  the  north  slopes  ;  I  salt  the  flocks  there  whenever  prac- 
ticable ;  and  burn  all  brush  and  trash  which  may  accumulate 
there. 

All  burs  of  whatever  description  ought  to  be  cut,  dried  and 
burned  before  they  get  ripe  enough  to  part  from  the  plant. 
Burdock  and  Thistle  burs  are  worse  than  Cockle  burs,  if  pos- 
sible ;  they  burst  asunder  and  fill  the  wool  with  the  most  odious 
prickles  and  filaments,  while  the  hard  burs  can  be  removed 
whole.  "NTo  words  of  condemnation  can  be  too  severe  for  the 
farmer  who  allows  burs  to  grow  and  ripen  and  get  into  the 
fleeces. 

Number  of  Sheep  per  Acre.— T.  W.  W.  Sunman,  of  Spades, 
Ind.,  gives  in  the  American  Sheep-Breeder  the  following  ex- 
perience:  "  "We  took  six  head  and  put  them  on  an  acre  of 
ground  well  set  in  grass  containing  some  white  clover,  weU 
watered  and  good  shade.  They  were  turned  in  somewhere 
about  the  12th  or  loth  of  April,  and  remained  there  until  along 
in  October  without  any  additional  feeding,  when  they  were 
turned  to  early  sown  rye  and  pastures  saved  for  fall  pasture. 
The  acre  furnished  all  the  pasture  the  sheep  required  and  to 
spare.  In  the  spring  of  1880  we  turned  eleven  head  of  one  and 
two-year-old  ewes  upon  this  same  acre  of  ground,  and  they  re- 
mained there  from  May  to  October,  receiving  no  additional  feed, 
and  had  plenty  of  grass  all  the  time. 

"In  1881  we  took  in  one-half  acre  more  land,  making  in  all 
one  and  one-half  acre  ;  upon  this  we  pastured  seventeen  head 
of  one,  two  and  four-year-old  sheep,  consisting  of  fifteen  ewes 
and  two  rams.    There  was  aU  the  pasture  the  sheep  wanted  and 


128  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

to  spare,  and  we  believe  would  have  furnished  pasturage  for 
four  or  six  more,  but  this  was  a  good  year  for  j)asture." 

But  this  is  an  exceptional  case.  When  the  shepherd,  in  going 
over  bis  pastures,  finds  an  occasional  grass-tuft  pulled  up  by  the 
roots,  he  may  know  that  he  is  over-pasturing.  I  have  kept 
twenty-three  sheep  in  good  condition  on  three  acres  nearly  all 
summer. 

Necessity  of  Water. — If  the  nights  are  cool  and  there  is 
a  heavy  deposit  of  dew  every  night,  sheep  will  do  well  for  a  long 
time  without  water,  if  they  have  constant  access  to  salt,  so  that 
they  do  not  eat  too  much  at  any  one  time.  Otherwise  they 
ought  to  have  water  within  reach  all  the  time.  A  flock  of  ewes 
with  lambs  at  heel,  ought  always  to  have  free  access  to  water, 
summer  and  winter,  without  regard  to  weather. 

Working  off  the  Culls.— With  a  flock  of  considerable  size 
this  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  operations  connected  with  its 
management.  There  is  no  prolit  in  grain-feeding  old  ewes  or 
the  long-legged,  short-wooled,  ungainly  culls,  into  which  a  large 
flock,  despite  the  most  careful  management,  is  continually 
"tailing  out."  Occasionally  a  batch  of  them  can  be  sold  to  a 
neighbor  who,  having  a  fresh  run,  and  wishing  to  keep  only  a 
small  flock,  can  make  something  out  of  them  when  segregated 
into  smaller  bands  ;  but  usually  the  only  method  practicable  is 
to  fatten  them  as  quickly  and  cheaply  as  possible,  and  sell  them 
for  what  they  will  bring. 

An  old,  toothless  or  splintery-toothed  crone  of  a  ewe,  is  an 
extremely  poor  piece  of  property.  Scarcely  better  is  a  younger 
one  yielding  a  short,  dry  fleece,  or  a  short,  yolky  one  which 
collects  into  hard,  yellowish  blocks,  that  almost  require  a  ham- 
mer to  soften  them  ;  or  with  a  bare  belly  and  long,  bare  legs  ;  or 
with  a  tail  set  on  low,  and  a  weak,  drooping  neck.  Of  course, 
ewes  that  are  in  service  will  produce  lighter  and  thinner  fleeces 
from  year  to  year,  and  some  deflciency  in  this  regard  may  be 
tolerated  in  one  of  exceptional  excellence  otherwise ;  but  if 
these  faults  appear  in  a  younger  sheep,  it  ought  not  to  be  re- 
tained after  the  flrst  shearing.  It  is  a  capital  mistake  to  allow 
an  inferior  sheep  to  drift  into  the  breedmg  flock,  for  then  there 
will  be  two  culls  instead  of  one. 

Shippers  commonly  say  they  do  not  care  how  old  a  sheep  is 
if  it  is  only  fat.  But  that  condition  which  the  ordinary  fanner 
calls  fat  may  be  only  "grass  bloat,"  or  it  may  be  fat  enough  to 
make  fairly  good  mutton  for  his  own  table  ;   but  it  will  not  en- 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  129 

dure  the  long,  rough  ride  to  New  York,  Chicago,  or  Baltimore. 
How  to  make  an  old  ewe  fat  enough  for  the  shipper,  is  a  diiS- 
ciilt  matter. 

I  generally  succeed  best  with  culls  by  putting  them  by  them- 
selves, young  and  old  ;  feeding  them  all  the  wheat  bran  and 
corn  meal  they  will  eat  (their  teeth  will  be  too  sore  to  crack 
corn),  and  giving  them  the  benefit  of  the  first  fresh  cropping 
from  each  pasture.  As  soon  as  they  have  been  on  it  a  week  or 
ten  days,  I  pass  them  on  to  another  fresh  one,  and  let  the  main 
flock  follow  them  up,  taking  each  field  in  turn  after  them  as 
soon  as  they  leave  it.  By  having  three  or  four  fields  and  swing- 
ing the  flocks  rai)idly  through  them  in  succession,  I  can  keep 
the  main  flock  very  large — much  larger  than  it  ought  to  be 
in  winter  quarters — without  detriment  to  it,  and  even  keep 
them  improving  in  flesh  all  the  while  for  three  or  four  months, 
until  the  culls  are  ready  to  turn  off,  when  the  main  flock  can  be 
broken  up  small  again  before  frost  sets  in. 

Old  ewes  and  other  refuse  sheep  ought  to  be  pushed  rapidly 
while  the  grass  is  tender  ;  like  an  old  "  shelly  "  cow,  they  are  a 
drug  in  the  market  at  best,  and  in  the  faU  they  will  be  crowded 
to  one  side  by  wethers. 

The  butcher  or  shipper  ought  never  to  be  required  to  take 
culls  for  the  sake  of  getting  good,  straight  wethers.  Some 
shippers  will  not  handle  the  former  at  any  price  ;  they  will  have 
to  be  disposed  of  to  some  "  cheap  John  "  dealer  for  a  bagatelle  ; 
but  for  thoroughly  good  wethers  the  farmer  can  demand  and 
obtain  a  good  price.  By  all  means  keep  the  two  classes  separate. 

Teeth  as  an  Indication  of  Age.— It  is  often  the  case  that 
a  man  will  develop  into  an  excellent  practical  shepherd,  but 
without  a  taste  for  keeping  a  record  of  his  sheep  by  books 
marks,  labels,  etc.  He  will  have  frequent  occasion  to  refer  to 
the  teeth  as  decisive  of  age.  The  milk  or  lamb  teeth  are  easily- 
distinguished  from  the  grass  teeth  by  their  smallness  and  dark 
color.  The  old  rule  among  farmers  was  that  a  "  full  mouth  " 
(eight  grass  teeth),  denoted  a  four-year-old,  each  year  bringing 
forth  two  new  teeth  ;  but  in  the  "modern  improved  breeds,  un- 
less ill-fed,  the  grass  teeth  make  their  appearance  about  as  fol- 
lows :  The  first  pair  at  one  year  ;  the  second  pair  at  eighteen 
months ;  th3  third  pair  at  twenty-seven  months  ;  the  fourth  and 
last  pair  at  thirty-six  months,  or  three  years. 

A  Leg  of  Mutton. — A  fat  young  ewe  affords  the  best  ripe 
mutton  ;  next,  a  young  wether.     The  sheep  selected  for  mutton 


130  THE   AMERICAIS'   MERIXO 

should  be  kept  quiet  and  cool  in  a  dark  place,  twenty-four 
hours,  without  anything  to  eat,  but  with  all  the  water  it  will 
drink  ;  above  all  things  it  should  not  be  worried  and  heated. 
The  neck  being  laid  across  a  block,  may  be  severed  at  a  blow 
with  an  axe,  and  the  flow  of  blood  should  be  made  as  complete 
as  possible  by  the  butcher  seizing  a  hind-leg  and  gently  pulling 
and  pushing  with  a  foot  on  the  carcass.  The  disemboweling 
and  skinning  should  be  quickly  dispatched.  Let  the  sheep  be 
hung  up,  ripped,  and  the  bowels  removed  ;  then  the  skinning 
can  be  performed  afterward.  Immediately  after  the  sheep  is 
hung  up,  if  a  hole  is  made  between  the  hind-legs  and  the 
abdomen  filled  up  with  very  cold  water,  it  will  assist  in  pre- 
venting the  ' '  sheepy  "  taste. 

When  Daniel  Webster  said  he  learned  in  England  the  secret 
of  good  mutton,  namely,  that  it  improves  with  age,  he  must 
have  meant  that  it  grows  better  each  day  after  it  is  butchered. 
The  longer  it  can  be  kept  the  better,  within  decent  Umits.  If 
the  farmer  wishes  to  avoid  surfeiting  his  family  on  mutton,  let 
him  convert  a  part  of  it — the  legs  preferably — into  smoked 
"mutton  hams"  or  corned  mutton;  then  hang  two  or  three 
good  roasts  down  a  deep  well,  and  proceed  with  moderation  in 
all  things.  The  advice  of  the  old  English  "quarter-of-mutton 
chant "  to  the  cook  is  :  "  Let  her  boil  the  leg  and  roast  the  loin, 
and  make  a  pudding  of  the  suet,"  and  the  advice  is  sound.  The 
roasted  loin  is  always  a  juicy  piece ;  but  the  shoulder-blade, 
gently  browned,  with  onion  sauce  or  baked  tomatoes,  runs  it 
close  in  the  favor  of  gourmets,  who  will  also  generally  be  found 
to  prefer  a  neck  chop  to  one  from  ihe  ribs,  since  in  a  coarse- 
grained sheep  oil  has  a  tendency  to  gather  there. 

Charcoal  or  vinegar  will  remove  what  the  Scotch  call  the 
*'  braxy  flavor,"  if  it  exists,  though  it  should  not  be  noticeable 
after  the  above  precautions  in  butchering  have  been  taken.  The 
old  English  fashion  of  cooking  before  an  open  wood  fire,  as 
directed  by  Dean  Swift,  was  very  good  ;  but  an  intelligent  cook 
can  prepare  just  as  choice  a  roast  in  a  modern  American  stove- 
oven.  If  the  sheep  was  young  the  piece  may  be  put  into  the 
oven  at  once  ;  otherwise  it  ought  to  be  macerated  by  boiling 
awhile,  with  the  amount  of  water  so  gauged  that  when  tender, 
it  will  be  "done  dry."  Then  let  it  be  put  into  the  oven,  with 
this  remnant  of  juice,  and  nicely  browned ;  and  the  gravy 
should  be  thickened  with  flour  and  water  previously  stirred 
together  without  lumps,  and  poured  into  the  pan  about  ten 
minutes  before  it  is  taken  out  of  the  oven. 


FOR   WOOL   AND    MUTTON".  131 

Maggots. — Mr.  E.  J.  Hiatt,  the  editor  of  The  Shepherds'  Na- 
tional Journal,  and  himself  a  shepherd  of  long  experience  and 
excellent  judgment,  gives  the  following  : 

"  Sassafras  oil  and  alcohol,  one-fifth  of  the  former  and  four- 
fifths  of  the  latter,  mixed,  will  destroy  maggots  on  short  notice  ; 
this  is  a  safe  and  sure  remedy  and  is  particularly  valuable  to 
destroy  maggots  when  they  are  located  where  it  is  diiiicult  to 
get  at  them.  They  may  be  destroyed  without  shearing  off  the 
wool. 

"  Turpentine  has  been  used,  but  this  is  injurious  to  some 
sheep  and  cannot  be  used  with  safety  when  the  sheep  are 
allowed  to  run  in  the  rain,  and  it  is  also  unsafe  in  cases  where 
the  sheep  is  fevered  and  reduced  in  strength  from  being  un- 
noticed or  neglected,  until  its  life  was  in  great  danger.  Water 
should  not  be  used  as  it  only  increases  the  danger  of  a  second 
attack.  There  is  much  less  danger  of  trouble  with  maggots 
when  sheep  are  kept  from  the  rain. 

"A  Uquid  is  sometimes  used,  which  is  made  by  boiling  or 
stewing  the  bark  or  stalks  of  the  Elder.  This  is  more  trouble- 
some, but  could  be  used  in  the  absence  of  something  better." 

I  had  come  to  the  same  conclusion  as  Mr.  Hiatt  respecting  the 
use  of  turpentine,  also  benzine — both  being  too  severe  on  the 
sheep  in  most  cases.  I  salt  twice  a  week  until  shearing-time, 
and  carry  to  a  field  with  me,  besides  the  salt,  the  crook,  some  tar, 
and  a  pair  of  shears.  If  a  sheep  is  seen  to  stamp  and  twitch  its 
tail,  catch  it  on  the  spot.  When  your  suspicions  are  found  to 
be  correct,  shear  off  close  all  the  wool  infested  by  the  vermin, 
clean  them  off  and  apply  tar  thoroughly.  If  they  have  estab- 
lished any  considerable  footing,  scrutinize  with  the  utmost 
thoroughness  the  wool  adjacent,  for  colonies  of  them  will 
migrate  around  about  and  begin  operations  afresh. 

Ticks. — It  is  an  impeachment  of  the  shepherd's  care  and 
vigilance  to  have  these  abominable  pests  on  his  sheep,  at  least 
for  any  length  of  time,  since  they  are  hable  to  get  into  any 
flock  through  purchase.  In  the  early  summer  is  the  time  above 
all  others  in  the  year  to  give  them  the  slip.  After  shearing 
they  will  disappear  in  two  or  three  weeks  from  the  shorn  sheep, 
and  part  of  those  on  the  ewes  will  take  refuge  on  the  lambs. 
The  grown  sheep  will  need  no  more  attention  if  they  are  kept  in 
good  growing  condition  through  the  summer,  but  unless  the 
lambs  are  treated  in  some  way,  the  vermin  will  survive  through 
the  summer,  some  will  return  to  the  ewes  before  weaning-time, 
and  the  remainder  will  be  ready  to  begin  their  deadly  work 


132  THE   AMEBIC AI^   ilERIIi^'O 

through  the  winter,  as  they  seldom  do  much  injury  in  summer. 
Ticks  never  flourish  on  fat  sheep.  Indeed,  this  rule  holds 
good  in  reference  to  nearly  all  ovine  parasites  ;  but  it  is  almost 
an  impossibility  to  get  lambs  in  good  condition  when  infested 
with  ticks.  It  is  not  advisable  to  dip  them  in  cold  weather,  but 
in  summer  it  may  be  done  with  safety  and  benefit.  Some 
shepherds  recommend  Eady's  Sheep  Dip,  others  carboKc  acid, 
etc.;  I  have  tried  kerosene,  snuff,  sulphur  (rubbed  into  the 
wool),  and  tobacco  water  and  a  solution  of  arsenic  (as  a  dip).  I 
think,  all  things  considered,  the  tobacco-water  is  best,  if  the 
material  is  readily  obtainable,  though  if  applied  strong  it  has  a 
tendency  to  color  the  wool  and  make  it  harsh. 

Twelve  or  fifteen  pounds  of  refuse  tobacco  and  chopped 
stems;  or  six  pounds  of  white  arsenic,  will  make  a  solution 
sufficiently  strong  for  one  hundred  lambs  ;  though  with  either 
one,  a  little  of  it  should  be  tried  on  a  few  ticks  before  the  dip- 
ping begins.  A  few  gallons  of  water  will  suffice  for  the  boiling, 
then  the  decoction  may  be  diluted  with  about  a  barrel  of  cold 
water.  The  keeper  of  Merinos  ought  not  to  be  troubled  with 
ticks  sufficiently  (they  are  more  troublesome  on  the  British 
breeds)  to  justify  the  expense  of  making  special  dipping  appa- 
ratus. Two  wash-tubs  or  large  iron  kettles  will  answer  the 
purpose. 

A  person  whose  hands  have  no  abrasions  of  the  skin  need  not 
fear  to  plunge  them  freely  into  either  the  tobacco  or  arsenic  de- 
coction. One  hand  should  grasp  the  lamb's  mouth  and  nostrils 
(to  prevent  it  from  getting  the  liquid  into  them),  the  other  the 
fore-legs,  while  an  assistant  holds  the  hind-legs.  The  lamb 
should  be  lowered,  back  down,  into  the  liquid  and  held  there 
until  it  thoroughly  pervades  the  wool  nearly  up  to  the  eyes  and 
the  roots  of  the  ears.  Then  let  it  be  placed  on  its  feet  in  the 
otlier  tub,  and  the  wool  squeezed  out.  Unless  this  dipping  is 
very  thoroughly  performed,  some  of  the  eggs  of  the  ticks  will 
escape,  and  in  two  weeks  the  operation  must  be  repeated. 

In  cold  weather,  as  above  remarked,  dipping  is  not  advisable  ; 
but  the  ticks  may  be  so  held  in  check  by  means  of  sulphlir  mixed 
in  the  salt  that  they  will  work  the  lambs  little  or  no  injury  until 
shearing-time  comes.  Indeed,  some  very  good  practical  shep- 
herds of  my  acquaintance  assert  that  they  destroy  or  prevent 
ticks  altogether  by  the  use  of  sulphur,  putting  three  pounds  of 
sulphur  to  five  of  salt,  and  giving  about  a  handful  of  the  com- 
pound twice  a  week  to  forty  or  fifty  sheep  in  their  feed.  In  the 
summer  they  are  not  molested  by  them,  and  in  the  fall,  if  any 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  133 

are  discoverable,  they  renew  the  sulphur.     When  feeding  sul- 
phur, I  am  careful  to  keep  lambs  housed  from  storms. 

My  experience  with  sulphur  has  been  so  satisfactory  that  I 
should  never  bother  with  kerosene,  snuff,  mercurial  ointment, 
or  any  other  substance  to  be  rubbed  into  the  wool. 

Salting. — I  take  it  for  granted  that  every  flock-master  who 
peruses  these  pages  never  denies  his  sheep  salt,  unless  it  may 
be  from  occasional  neghgence.  By  keeping  it  in  a  covered 
trough  and  taking  account  of  the  quantity  consumed  during  a 
series  of  weeks  in  earlv  summer,  I  ascertained  that  an  average 
sheep  requires  about  one-eighth  pint  per  week.  During  a  pro- 
tracted drouth,  or  late  in  autumn,  when  the  grass  has  become 
dry,  sheep  consume  less  salt  than  in  the  spring  when  the  grass 
is  washy.  Strong,  healthy  sheep,  well  cared  for  otherwise,  may 
flourish  for  an  indefinite  period  without  any  salt ;  but  every 
flock-master  of  extended  experience,  who  has  turned  that  ex- 
perience to  account,  is  well  satisfied  that  salt  is  very  beneficial 
to  sheep,  and  that  the  money  it  costs  is  well  expended  in  ward- 
ing off  disease. 

In  a  journey  through  New  Mexico  several  years  ago,  I  con- 
versed with  a  resident  wool-grower,  Mr.  Anton  Lippart,  who 
stated  a  remarkable  fact  in  his  experience.  One  winter  during 
a  severe  and  protracted  drouth,  he  lost  about  twelve  hundred 
sheep,  while  a  neighbor  similarly  situated  lost  less  than  a  score. 
His  neighbor  saved  his  sheep  vntli  salt  and  water  !  The  liberal 
supply  of  salt  so  toned  up  and  stimulated  the  sheep,  that  they 
consumed  the  coarsest  feed  and  turned  everything  to  account. 

It  is  wasteful  to  salt  sheep  on  the  ground,  even  in  the  cleanest 
places,  but  this  system  has  its  compensating  advantages  m  that 
it  compels  the  flock-master  to  see  his  sheep  once  a  week,  which 
he  might  otherwise  neglect  to  do.  By  scattering  the  salt  in  a 
circle  of  handfuls,  he  can  count  and  inspect  every  member  of  a 
large  flock.  I  never  found  it  worth  while  to  provide  a  covered 
trough,  except  in  one  case,  and  that  was  as  a  receptacle  for  salt 
and  copperas  as  a  preventive  of  Paper-skin  in  lambs.  (See 
Chapter  on  Diseases).  The  salt-trough  in  the  pasture  serves 
another  useful  purpose  in  accustoming  lambs  to  eat  from  a 
trough  as  a  preparation  for  weaning. 

The  Dust  Bath.— Some  writers  and  practical  men  recom- 
mend tar,  smeared  in  the  salt-trough,  and  thence  attaching  it- 
self to  the  animals'  noses,  as  a  repellant  of  the  gad-fly  and  a 
preventive  of  the  deposition  of  its  eggs.     In  a  close-fenced  and 


134  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

cleared  pasture,  with  no  shade,  except  that  beside  the  fence,  tar, 
or  whale  oil,  may  be  rubbed  on  their  noses  with  good  effect.  I 
attach  great  importance  to  shade  and  dust.  If  on  the  top  of 
some  commanding  hill  or  knoll,  there  is  a  clump  of  trees  under 
which  the  breeze  draws  cool  and  refreshing,  here  the  sheep  wiU 
always  be  found  congregated  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  here 
each  one  will  wear  out,  by  stamping,  a  little  circular  depression 
for  himself  in  which,  with  evident  satisfaction,  he  will  lie  down 
and  get  up  many  times  a  day,  paw,  turn  round,  and  otherwise 
raise  a  dust  into  which  to  thrust  his  nose.  He  will  lie  for  an 
liour  or  more  with  his  nose  close  pressed  against  the  ground, 
inhaling  the  dust.  It  is  an  instinct ;  ne  seeks  in  this  way  to 
escape  his  enemy. 

The  gad-fly  is  more  apt  to  trouble  lambs  and  tegs  than  older 
sheep,  and  I  deem  it  a  matter  of  importaripe  to  provide  for 
these,  if  possible,  an  enclosed  building  as  a  refuge  during  the 
heat  of  summer.  Even  a  shed  with  only  one  side,  if  it  is  some- 
what dark  and  cool,  is  a  better  protection  against  the  :Sy  than 
the  open  field  or  a  thin  coppice. 

Weaning  Lambs. — If  they  are  thriving  as  well  as  they  ought, 
lambs  need  not  run  with  the  ewes  above  four  months.  They 
will  be  more  quiet  if  left  in  the  field  they  are  accustomed  to, 
with  the  ewes  removed  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 

If  there  are  shade  and  water  in  the  field  which  they  know 
where  to  find,  they  will  help  themselves.  If  not,  they  ought  to 
be  driven  to  water  every  day  ;  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  fetch 
them  to  the  stable  before  the  sun  gets  very  hot,  to  prevent  them 
from  rambling  aimlessly  about  the  field,  panting  in  the  sun- 
shine, or  crowding  into  the  fence-corners. 

The  lambs  should  have  a  fresh  rowen  or  an  upland  pasture,  if 
one  is  available,  well  stocked  with  June  grass,  Red-top,  or  some 
other  short,  tender,  nutritious  grass.  There  should  be  strips  of 
forest  in  it,  with  shady  knolls  for  stamping-grounds,  where 
they  may  find  an  abundance  of  the  dust  which  is  so  essential  to 
tlieir  health  during  the  dog  days.  An  old  ewe  should  be  left 
with  them  for  a  flock-leader.  If  they  are  accustomed  during 
the  summer  to  a  stationary  sal t-trongh,  the  task  of  teaching 
them  to  eat  feed  will  be  reduced  to  a  trifle,  as  they  will  approach 
the  troughs  freely.  A  mere  dusting  of  salt  should  be  sprinkled 
on  their  feed  for  a  few  days  (being  withheld  from  them  other- 
wise) ;  after  that  it  may  be  left  in  quantity  in  the  trough  appro- 
priated to  it,  or  spriiikled  on  a  clean  sod.  It  is  of  the  hii^hest 
importance  that  lambs  and  yeai'lings  should  have  daily  access 


FOR   WOOL   AN"D    MUTTOI*r.  135 

to  salt,  summer  and  winter,  at  least  in  a  humid  climate.  I  will 
give  a  brief  description  of  my  mode  of  making  a  salt-trough. 
For  the  supports  take  two  equal  pieces  of  one-and-a-half-inch 
plank,  fifteen  inches  wide,  and  saw  notches  in  the  top  deep 
enough  to  receive  the  trough.  Make  the  trough  V-shaped,  six- 
teen feet  long,  of  boards  six  inches  wide,  using  for  end-boards 
the  pieces  sawed  out  of  the  plank.  Let  the  supports  be  about 
eighteen  inches  long,  and  nail  to  them,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
trough,  upright  standards.  Across  these  standards  at  the  top 
nail  two  V-shaped  pieces  to  support  the  roof,  which  is  made 
Kke  the  trough  and  turned  bottom  up.  The  standards  must  be 
high  enough  to  allow  the  sheep  to  insert  their  heads  freely  be- 
tween the  roof  and  trough,  which  requires  a  space  of  about 
nine  inches. 

For  a  safe,  nutritious,  healthy,  universally  available  and 
everywhere  procurable  feed  for  weaned  lambs,  there  is  nothing 
wliich  is  comparable  to  wheat  bran.  I  find  it  profitable  to  en- 
rich it  by  the  addition  of  a  little  shorts  or  oil-cake  meal.  In 
default  of  this,  let  a  small  proportion  of  oats  be  introduced  into 
the  ration  when  the  frost  falls,  and  some  corn  when  the  snow 
flies.     Buckwheat  bran  is  too  coarse  and  rough  for  lambs. 

Tagging  Lambs.  —  Merino  lambs  four  months  old  should 
have  wool  of  considerable  length,  and  in  the  heat  of  midsum- 
mer this  renders  them  liable  to  the  invasion  of  those  detestable 
vermin,  the  maggots.  Out  of  a  flock  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
lambs,  I  have  lost  over  twenty  id  less  than  two  weeks  from  this 
source  alone.  Of  late  years  I  have  invariably  tagged  at  wean- 
ing all  the  ewe-lambs,  and  as  many  wethers  as  showed  signs  of 
fouling  about  the  pizzle.  In  very  hot,  muggy  weather  sheep 
will  sometimes  become  fly-blown  anywhere  about  the  fleece  if 
there  is  the  least  fetor  attaching  to  the  animal,  around  the 
hoofs,  the  head,  the  wrinkles,  or  the  natural  orifices  of  the 
body.  The  most  rigid  cleanliness  must  be  maintained  to  carry 
lambs  through  the  dog-days  in  bad  years.  Four  hours'  work  in 
tasging  may  save  ten  times  that  amount  of  the  most  odious 
drudgery  the  shepherd  has — fighting  the  maggots. 

Summer  Housing  and  Feeding. — Some  very  good  shepherds, 
indeed  a  great  majority  of  the  keepers  of  stud-flocks,  give  their 
sheep  a  little  hay  all  summer.  It  is  only  a  very  little,  and  that 
of  very  sweet  hay.  A  still  smaller  number  give  lambs  and 
choice  rams  a  daily  ration  of  grain,  generally  consisting  of 
wheat  bran  and  oats  mixed  in  about  equal  portions.     It  is 


136     -  THE  AMERICAN   MERIK'O 

claimed  that  this  dry  feeding  in  summer  steadies  the  animal's 
appetite,  acts  as  a  corrective  of  acidity  and  flatulency,  a  pre- 
ventive of  colic  and  scours,  and  a  general  tonic  to  the  system  ; 
this  more  especially  when  the  weather  is  exceptionally  wet  and 
the  grass  slushy.  To  the  breeders  of  high-priced  standard  sheep 
there  is  undoubtedly  much  force  in  this  argument ;  they  find 
profit  in  the  course  above  indicated  ;  and,  conducted  within  the 
careful,  reasonable  limits  implied  in  the  foregoing  statement,  it 
affords  no  just  ground  for  the  odious  charge  of  pampering. 

Neither  have  I  any  quarrel  with  the  veteran  shepherd  who 
chooses  to  house  his  flock  every  day  in  the  year,  and  who  would 
suffer  a  load  o£  hay  to  take  a  shower  rather  than  a  dozen  favor- 
ite sheep.  It  would  argae  the  height  of  folly  t3  assume  that  he 
does  not  know  his  business,  and  that  this  policy  is  necessarily 
incompatible  with  common  honesty.  Oar  countrymen  who 
breed  fine  stock  may  be  trusted  to  discover  ultimately  those 
methods  which  will  develop  that  stock  to  the  acme  of  symmetry 
and  beauty.  And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a  Merino  systematic- 
ally housed  and  blanketed  is  much  more  pleasing  to  the  view 
than  one  which  exposure  has  rendered  rough  and  shaggy.  The 
soft,  moist  feel  of  the  exterior,  devoid  of  clots  or  indurations  ; 
the  rich,  dull  luster  of  orange  or  gold  revealed  in  the  deep  clefts 
between  the  blocks  when  opened  ;  the  fibers  glistening,  when 
held  up  separate,  with  a  pellucid,  semiliquid  unguent — these 
are  eminently  satisfactory  to  the  admirer  of  fine  sheep.  A 
fleece  which  has  been  housed  for  some  time  and  is  then  exposed 
to  the  rains,  bleaches  out  dirty-white,  yellowish,  yellow-gray, 
brown,  or  remains  black,  according  to  the  consistence  of  the 
yolk  ;  the  latter  has  its  stratifications  destroyed  and  is  washed 
down  into  the  wool  and  into  disfiguring  masses  like  the  drift 
along  a  stream,  etc.  A  frost  on  a  fleece  is  considered  even  more 
injurious  to  its  appearance  than  a  rain.  I  appreciate  the  artistic 
perception  which  delights  in  the  full  and  fat  exterior  ;  the  soft, 
flannel-like  fleece,  which  yet  offers  a  firm  and  thick  handful 
where  grasped  ;  the  eyes  closely  walled  about  with  wool ;  the 
silken  white  nose  and  ears  ;  the  comfortable,  buttoned-up  chin 
and  cheeks— the  perfect  presentment  of  hearty  and  well-fed 
opulence. 

All  these  things  may  be  fair  and  honest,  they  may  be  matters 
of  legitimate  pride  and  art.  Everything  depends  on  the  master's 
motive  in  this  summer  feeding  and  housing. 

These  practices  will  be  found  only  in  stud  or  standard  flocks. 
And  when  it  becomes  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  bring  sheep 


FOR    WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  *  137 

down  from  the  high  level  of  the  stud-flock  to  the  niveau  of  the 
plain,  out-door,  wool-bearing  flock,  he  will  find — such  has  been 
my  exi3erience — that  hardly  any  amount  of  summer-housing 
will  unfit  the  sheep  for  a  gradual,  progressive  and  judicious 
initiation  into  the  ways  of  a  working  flock,  but  that  irreparable 
mischief  may  be  wrought  by  high  feeding. 

My  father  once  bought  a  ram  for  four  hundred  dollars,  which 
soon  developed  goitre  and  partial  impotency,  and  died  when  he 
should  have  been  in  his  prime.  It  was  a  mystery  to  him  at  the 
time,  but  subsequent  investigation  revealed  that  lie  had  been 
grossly  pampered. 

I  paid  a  high  rent  for  a  ram  one  year,  and  out  of  seventy-five 
ewes  served  by  him,  a  great  part  came  in  heat  a  second  time, 
and  less  than  forty  bore  lambs  of  his  getting.  He  was  a  large 
and  powerful  two-year-old,  but  in  less  than  a  year  he  died  sud- 
denly and  mysteriously.  He  had  undoubtedly  been  over-fed, 
but  not  intentionally,  as  his  owner  made  honorable  restitution. 

Over-feeding  and  excessive  fatness  are  the  cause  of  some 
barrenness  among  Merino  ewes,  and,  as  indicated  in  a  previous 
chapter,  of  weakness,  under-size  and  lack  of  constitution  in 
lambs.  But  the  unscrupulous  men  who  practice  pampering  on 
their  show-sheep  and  their  sale-sbeep  are  well  aware  of  this 
fact,  and  do  not  allow  themselves  to  be  losers  from  their  dis- 
reputable doings.  A  friend  informs  me  that,  during  a  visit  to 
the  farm  of  a  noted  breeder  in  Vermont,  after  looking  long  and 
with  unelisguised  admiration  at  the  various  flocks  paraded  for 
his  inspection,  he  inquired  in  some  surprise  where  his  breeding 
flock  was.  He  was  told  that  they  were  "  not  in  good  condition 
to  be  seen,"  but,  on  insisting  somewhat,  he  was  conducted  to  a 
stony,  rugged  hill-pasture,  where  they  found  the  ewes  literally 
"roughing  it" — a  shaggy-looking  lot,  but  rosy-skinned  and 
hardy,  the  very  picture  of  health  and  thrift  ! 

The  Merino  is  tolerant  of  much  abuse,  and  when  well-fed  it 
will  submit  to  the  most  rigid  imprisonment  for  a  long  time  with 
impunity  and  with  apparent  thrift.  Indeed,  for  animals  fat- 
tening for  the  shambles,  destined  to  be  butchered  in  a  few 
months,  this  confinement  is  probably  conducive  to  the  highest 
profit ;  but  stock  sheep  subjected  to  it  will  go  to  pieces  in  the 
end. 

Exercise,  labor,  work,  is  the  law  of  all  being  ;  and  a  violation 
of  it  will  inexorably  entail  the  penalty  at  last. 


138  THE   AMEBIC  AN   MERINO 

CHAPT-EE    XIV. 

FROM  GRASS  TO  HAY. 

Sheep  in  Corn. — In  seasons  when  there  is  not  much  wind 
and  the  corn  stands  up  well,  it  is  frequently  advisable  to  turn 
flocks  of  young  sheep  into  the  standing  corn  a  week  or  two  be- 
fore cutting  it  begins.  There  are  many  leaves  on  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  stalks  which  are  never  harvested,  besides  weeds 
which  impede  the  labor  of  cutting,  all  of  which  sheep  will  con- 
sume for  a  change.  It  is  best  to  alternate  the  flocks,  shifting 
them  every  few  days.  To  one  not  accustomed  to  the  experience, 
it  is  surprising  to  see  how  clean  and  tidy  a  flock  will  clear  up  a 
corn-field — what  an  immense  amount  of  trash  they  wfll  con- 
sume. But  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  the  equi- 
noctial storms.  I  once  had  a  flock  caught  in  a  two-days'  rain, 
and  they  bogged  down  to  the  middle  in  the  plowed  ground,  so 
that  we  had  to  carry  some  out  a-shoulder. 

In  Orchards. — Sheep  are  better  scavengers  in  a  bearing 
orchard  than  hogs,  notwithstanding  they  will  bark  small  trees. 
Even  if  ringed,  hogs  will  exterminate  most  grasses  in  a  small 
lot,  but  orchard  grass  will  flourish  under  the  trees  and  under 
the  hardest  gnawing  of  the  sheep.  Besides  that,  sheep  will  eat 
up  all  the  windfalls,  no  matter  how  small,  bitter,  astringent  or 
rotten,  with  a  more  unquestioning  appetite  than  swine  ;  hence 
they  protect  the  trees  more  effectually  against  insect  enemies. 
It  is  mainly  old  suckling  ewes  that  damage  the  trees,  and  these 
only  in  the  spring  when  herbage  is  scanty.  They  may  be  pre- 
vented from  gnawing  the  bark  by  an  application  of  coal  tar, 
kerosene,  tar,  or  a  wash  prepared  by  mixing  one  quart  of  soft 
soap,  one  quart  of  lime,  one  quart  of  pine  tar  with  three  gal- 
lons of  sheep,  cow  or  hen  manure,  stirring  in  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  water  to  make  it  about  the  same  consistency  as  ordinary 
whitewash.  Applj^  to  the  body  of  the  trees  with  a  whitewash 
brush,  splint  broom,  or  with  the  hand  well  protected  with  a 
heavy  cloth  mitten.  This  wash  will  protect  the  trees  against 
injury  from  sheep,  except  the  rams'  horns,  and  is  also  conducive 
to  the  growth  and  health  of  the  trees.  It  is  valuable  in  pre- 
venting the  damages  so  frequently  done  by  insects,  worms, 
etc.;  for  this  purpose  apply  as  near  the  roots  as  possible,  and  as 
often  as  it  is  washed  off  by  the  raia  from  the  body  of  the  tr33. 


FOR   WOOL  AI^D    MUTTON".  139 

But  most  farmers  in  the  busy  season  will  forget  to  renew  the 
application,  and  at  best  it  will  not  prevent  damage  by  the  rams' 
horns.  Hence  I  have  found  the  best  practical  protection  to  be 
stakes  ;  locust  stakes  will  last  from  six  to  ten  years  or  more. 

A  few  sheep  may  be  kept  in  an  orchard  which  does  not  afford 
enough  herbage  for  their  support ;  and,  if  fed  on  pumpkins, 
turnip-tops,  apple  pomace,  salt-hay,  brewers'  grains,  sweet-corn 
fodder,  or  f odder-corn,  they  will  rid  the  orchard  of  every  weed, 
down  to  yellow  dock,  burdock,  elder,  poke,  and  even  stunt  the 
thistles  if  salt  is  thrown  around  them.  But  they  incur  some 
risks  ;  I  once  had  a  valuable  ewe  choked  by  a  cUngstone  peach. 

Soiling  Sheep. — Green  feed  soon  becomes  stale  in  a  rack  ;  it 
is  necessary  to  feed  sheep  "  little  and  often."  With  the  mutton- 
breeds  what  may  be  called  out-door  soiling,  or  hurdle-feeding 
on  roots,  rape,  mustard,  etc.,  is  often  found  profitable ;  but  it 
will  seldom  repay  the  labor  to  soil  Merino  sheep  in  the  ordinary 
meaning  of  the  term,  except  as  above  suggested,  in  an  orchard 
or  some  small  lot  which  it  is  desired  to  free  from  weeds  and 
briers. 

Maintaining  an  even  Condition. — I  wish  to  impress  strongly 
upon  the  mind  of  the  inexperienced  flock-master  the  necessity 
of  keeping  up  an  even,  uniform  condition,  a  progressive  growth 
in  his  flocks,  throughout  the  year.  Not  only  do  the  horse  and 
steer  give  quicker  note  of  a  falling-off  (by  their  hair  beginning 
to  stand  out  straight  and  other  indications),  than  the  sheep 
whose  carcass  is  deeply  hidden  from  the  master's  eyes  in  a 
voluminous  fleece  ;  but  the  horse  and  the  steer,  by  reason  of 
their  stronger  muscular  and  vascular  systems,  will  also  more 
easily  recover  from  a  temporary  decline. 

After  the  fairs  are  all  over  and  the  show-sheep  turned  out, 
the  ribbons  laid  away  as  trophies,  the  busy  farmer — busiest  now 
of  all  times  of  the  year — is  apt  to  neglect  his  flocks,  and  they 
enter  upon  the  down-grade.  But  all  the  while  he  is  driving  his 
fall  work,  or  perhaps  chatting  at  the  corner-store,  there  is  a 
secret  recorder  that  is  every  day,  like  the  priest  behind  the  wall 
in  the  Inquisition,  laying  up  secret  evidence  against  him,  jot- 
ting down  its  own  note  and  comment,  which  the  expert  may 
open  and  read. 

What  is  this  mysterious  spy  ?  It  is  the  fiber  of  the  wool.  Let 
the  sheep  be  neglected  a  few  weeks  in  the  late  autumn  and  lose 
condition,  let  it  fall  sick,  let  it  even  be  violently  chased  by  dogs 
for  twenty  minutes,  and  the  fiber  will  be  '*  jointed,"  there  wiU 


140  THE   AMERICAN    MERINO 

be  a  weak  place  in  it  which  will  cause  it  to  break  in  the  cards 
or  the  loom.  The  reader  may  puff  out  his  cheeks  at  this  as  a 
mere  bit  of  sentiment ;  but  there  is  a  case  on  record  where  a 
Boston  expert  told  the  much-wondering  farmer  that  he  had 
moved  his  flock  from  a  wooded  to  a  prairie  region,  and  informed 
him  in  what  month  he  did  it — all  from  the  simple  evidence 
furnished  by  the  fleeces. 

Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  good  wool.  The  perfect 
Merino  fiber  of  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  -  true 
and  sound,  of  a  uniform  diameter  throughout  its  whole  extent 
— admirably  typifies  the  ceaseless  care  and  the  untiring  industry 
of  the  true  shepherd  ;  while  the  staple  of  Austraha,  thin  at  one 
end,  thick  at  the  other,  with  perhaps  one  or  more  attenuations 
between,  fitly  represents  a  slipshod,  "  feast-and-f  amine  "  system 
of  husbandry. 

Fall  Care. — All  the  flocks,  especially  the  lambs  and  the 
breeding  ewes,  should  be  vigilantly  watched  at  this  time  of  the 
year.  As  soon  as  heavy  frosts  begin  to  fall  the  sheep  ought  to 
be  housed  at  night,  and  not  turned  out  in  the  morning  until 
the  frost  disappears,  as  they  will  frequently  wander  around  an 
hour  or  more,  doing  themselves  no  good  and  the  pasture  much 
damage.  Wherever  they  touch  a  frosty  clover-leaf  or  other 
tender  herbage,  it  is  ruined,  whereas  if  it  had  been  allowed  to 
thaw  out  untouched,  it  would  have  been  uninjured.  I  never 
lost  any  sheep  from  frozen  clover,  but  it  will  physic  young 
sheep  and  put  them  in  ill  condition  to  enter  winter  quarters. 

If  the  autumn  has  not  been  too  rainy,  second-growth  clover, 
cut  and  cured,  will  be  excellent  feed  to  shade  off  on  from  grass 
to  hay — for  the  ewes  ought  to  have  a  little  dry  feed  in  their 
mangers  while  waiting  in  the  morning  for  the  frost  to  melt. 
But  in  a  wet  season,  clover  rowen  is  not  fit  for  hay  ;  it  will 
"  slobber  "  anything  except  hogs.  I  have  had  sheep  killed  by 
it.  The  farmer  can  easily  tell  whether  it  will  be  safe  to  harvest 
it  by  testing  a  horse  with  it  while  green. 

Very  rank  clover,  grown  on  river  bottoms  and  cut  while 
green,  will  sometimes  cause  ewes  to  *'  slink  "  their  lambs  ;  even 
the  first  cutting  has  done  this,  to  say  nothing  of  the  second  ;  at 
least,  such  has  been  my  experience.  Yet  I  should  not  hesitate 
to  give  upland  clover  to  pregnant  ewes  without  stint. 

Fall  Feed  for  Lambs. — One  year  my  pastures  were  much 
curtailed  by  a  severe  drought,  and  I  was  somewhat  puzzled  how 
to  provide  for  my  lambs  a  supply  of  that  succulent  herbage 


FOR    WOOL   AND    MUTTOX.  ;! '41 

which  is  so  necessary  to  their  thrift.  The  cossets  running 
about  the  house  had  access  to  a  turnip-patch  of  two  or  three 
acres,  and,  observing  them  cropping  the  tops,  I  conceived  the 
idea  of  turning  the  entire  flock  into  the  patch  for  a  limited  time 
each  day.  The  plan  worked  admirably  ;  in  course  of  time  the 
lambs  had  completely  stripped  off  the  tops,  thus  saving  me  tlie 
most  onerous  part  of  the  labor  of  harvesting  turnips,  and  they 
had  only  here  and  there  taken  a  mouthful  from  a  turnip,  not 
impairing  them  in  the  least  for  use  the  following  spring.  It 
supplemented  the  fall  feed  admirably,  and  carried  the  lambs 
into  winter  quarters  in  excellent  condition.  A  slight  tendency 
to  scours  developed  itself  after  the  tops  were  severely  frosted, 
but  it  was  easily  corrected  by  lessening  their  daily  run  on  the 
turnips  and  increasing  the  ration  of  hay  and  bran. 

Pumpkins  are  good  feed  for  lambs  in  autumn  (see  Chapter 
on  Paperskin).  They  wiU  eat  them  tolerably  well  if  broken  up 
on  a  veiy  clean  and  close  sward  ;  but  it  is  better  to  provide  flat- 
bottomed  troughs  with  compartments,  each  being  large  enough 
to  receive  the  half  of  a  pumpkin  split  in  such  fasliion  as  to  lie 
flat,  with  the  inside  uppermost. 

Acorns  are  a  valuable  resource  for  gi'own  sheep,  but  I  have 
not  had  favorable  results  when  I  allowed  lambs  to  run  freely 
in  an  oak  forest.  The  acoms  have  almost  invariably  been  pro- 
ductive of  scours. 

One  thing  is  certain— lambs  must  be  grained  liberally,  or  else 
they  must  have  a  very  choice  reserve  of  gi'een  feed  to  wind  up 
the  grazing  season  on,  or  they  will  lose  ground  and  go  into 
winter  quarters  on  the  down  grade.  I  feed  my  lambs  more 
grain  in  November  than  in  January.  In  January  they  are  well 
established  in  their  winter  habits  and  have  an  abundance  of  the 
best  and  sweetest  hay  ;  whereas  in  November  they  are  in  a 
transition  condition,  gathering  up  under  protest  the  leavings  of 
the  summer  grass  which  the  frost  has  weakened.  I  mix  one 
part  oats  to  two  of  bran,  and  of  this  I  give  about  a  bushel  and 
a  half  a  day  to  one  hundred  head. 

At  the  End  of  the  Season.— Sometimes  an  inch  or  two  of 
snow  will  fall  on  the  grass  before  it  is  time  to  bring  the  flocks 
into  winter  quarters,  and  lie  a  few  days  ;  or  it  may  be  desirable 
for  other  reasons  to  keep  the  sheep  out  a  little  beyond  such 
time  as  the  pasturage,  unaided,  would  keep  them  in  good  flesh. 
1  have  found  it  advantageous  under  these  circumstances  to 
carry  out,  say  a  half  bushel  of  shelled  corn  to  the  hundred 
grown  sheep,  and  sow  it  broadcast  on  a  short,  clean  sod.     This 


142  THE   AMEEICAK   MEEINO 

enables  all  to  share  equally.  On  the  north  hillsides  grass  nearly 
always  grows  ranker  than  elsewhere,  and  the  sheep  will  pass 
by  these  strong-growing  patches  all  summer.  Late  in  the  fall 
they  can  be  made,  with  the  help  of  a  small  ration  of  corn,  to 
depasture  them  down  and  so  leave  the  pasture  uniform.  These 
tussocks  would  otherwise  afford  a  winter  harbor  for  ground 
mice.  Sometimes  I  have  found  it  advantageous  to  keep  a  few 
young  cattle  with  a  flock  ;  they  will  graze  these  north  hillsides, 
while  the  sheep  will  keep  on  the  south  slopes. 


CHAPTER    XV. 
SELECTION  AND  CARE  OF  RAMS. 

Constitution. — "  A  steep  rump  and  a  crooked  leg,"  is  one  6t 
the  shepherd's  catch-words.  A  crooked  leg  generally  means 
also  a  "  cat-ham,"  and  a  cat-ham  is  usually  a  sign  of  weakness. 
Still,  however  objectionable  these  points  may  be,  they  are  not 
to  be  compared  with  flat  nostrils  (almost  invariably  accom- 
panied by  catarrh  and  a  disgusting  accumulation  of  mucus  in 
the  nares) ;  weak  pasterns,  causing  the  animal  to  walk  some- 
what flat-footed,  plantigrade,  or  bear-fashion ;  a  straight,  thin, 
ewe-nose  ;  and  a  fine  ewe-fleece — all  of  which  denote  a  poor 
constitution. 

The  test  of  supreme  importance  is  the  bright,  rosy  skin.  A 
ram  may  have  excrescences ;  yet  if  he  has  this,  he  possesses 
vigor.  Mr.  G.  B.  Quinn's  "Red  Legs  "  had  a  shambling  anatomy, 
thin  shoulders,  and  steep  rump  ;  yet  he  had  great  power.  Mr. 
C.  C.  Smith's  "Silver  Horn"  was  excessively  wrinkly,  as  the 
annexed  measurements  show  ;  still  he  had  sufficient  vigor. 

"  Silver  Horn,"  live  weight 138'  /o  pounds. 

Length 3  feet  7  inches. 

Total  length  (including  wrinkles) 9     "    5 


Through  shoulders 7Vn  " 

Through  hips... 9Vio  " 

Height 2     ''    2        " 

Length  of  neck 1174    " 

Girth  (about  the  heart) 3     "      '/^    " 

AVidthofloin  6        '* 

Width  of  escutcheon 7        " 

Length  of  nose 8'/q    ** 

Length  of  nose  not  wooled lYa    *' 

Depth  of  flank  wrinkle GVb    " 

Escutcheon  wrinkle  overlaps 2Vi2  " 


FOE-  WOOL  A^sTD  MUTTON. 


143 


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144  THE   AMERICAN   MERIJS^O 

Points  of  a  Good  Ram. — Let  him  have  cleaxi,  short,  shining 
hoofs,  which  never  require  the  toe-chppers  ;  a  round  barrel ; 
a  good  diameter  through  the  hams  and  shoulders  ;  a  neck  well 
set  on,  tliick,  powerful,  devoid  of  the  feeble  Saxon  droop  just 
in  front  of  the  shoulders  ;  a  nose  held  nearly  i)erpendicular, 
arched,  reddish,  covered  with  fine  corrugations,  and  in  mature 
age,  having  two  deep  channels  running  from  the  inner  cornei's 
of  the  eyes  slanting  down  athwart  the  face  ;  nostrils  round  and 
well-opened ;  eyes  large  and  brilliant ;  horns,  when  grown, 
making  one  turn  and  a  half,  close  to  the  head,  spanning  clear 
across  the  forehead,  deep,  with  a  sharp,  cutting  edge  under- 
neath, and  with  clean,  clear-grained  wrinkles,  thickly  set  to- 
gether. Let  his  ears  be  hot,  so  that  blood  will  flow  freely  from 
a  cut.  A  cold-eared,  cold-blooded  animal  is  of  no  value.  Such 
a  sheep  does  not  possess  sufficient  animal  heat  to  keep  his  yolk 
liquescent  and  diffused  to  the  extremities  of  the  fibers.  The 
scrotum  should  be  well  covered,  the  wool  joining  on  to  the 
belly ;  the  spermatic  cords  thick  and  large,  and  the  investing 
skin  of  a  bright,  ruddy  color.  A  long,  pendulous  scrotum  with 
small  cords  betokens  a  weak  constitution.  I  like  to  see  the  neck 
swelling  into  voluminous  folds,  especially  a  liberal  apron  ;  the 
body  plain  ;  the  stifle  and  ham  slashed  with  two  or  three  ob- 
liquely transverse  wrinkles  free  from  gare.  But  best  of  all  is  a 
broad,  horseshoe-shaped  escutcheon,  a  tail  nearly  as  wide  as  a 
man's  two  hands,  with  the  skin  at  the  sides  folded  and  tucked 
under,  which  indicates,  in  my  opinion,  generous  breeding  and 
generous  blood.  The  Hiatt  Bro.'sram,  '"  Ohio,"  had  the  finest 
escutcheon  I  ever  saw  on  any  sheep. 

As  to  fleece,  so  far  as  my  observation  goes,  the  more  vigorous 
the  ram,  generally,  the  whiter  the  wool  he  produces.  I  know 
full  well  the  beauty  of  those  fleeces  which,  as  the  animal's  body 
bends  a  little  to  one  side,  reveal  deep  rifts  of  a  rich  reddish- 
yellow,  like  the  color  of  California  gold  ;  but  they  are  not  so 
hardy  generally. 

A  ram  should  be  sought  that  has  a  short  and  broad  head,  and 
powerful  jaws,  the  lower  one  spread  well  apart.  Between  the 
lower  jaws  and  under  the  tongue  are  the  salivary  glands,  and  if 
the  jaws  are  well  spread  these  glands  will  be  large  and  afford  a 
good  supply  of  saliva,  a  very  important  ingredient  in  digestion. 
When  the  head  is  long  and  the  jaws  lacking  in  width,  these 
glands  will  be  small  and  not  yield  sufficient  to  carry  on  diges- 
tion with  a  force  always  assuring  the  animal's  good  condition. 

Opposites  to  be  Mated. — Another  important  point  is  to  se- 


FOR   WOOL   AXD    MUTTOT^. 


145 


lect  none  but  those  that  appear  full  of  life,  wide  awake,  with 
eyes  not  partly  closed,  but  wide  open.  An  active  temperament 
is  always  indicated  by  bright,  sparkling  eyes  and  the  two  set 
well  apart.  A  ram  with  the  right  form  and  temperament  when 
crossed  with  ewes  unlike  himself,  will  give  an  increase,  carry- 


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ing  heavier  fleeces  than  sire  dt  dam.  In  chemistry  it  requires 
two  distinct  properties  to  produce  the  third  ;  it  takes  two  dis- 
tinct gases  to  make  a  drop  of  water,  and  two  opposite  winds  to 
blow  the  misty  vapor  together  to  form  rain  drops  ;  and  in  gen- 
eration two  opposites  are  required  to  produce  strong  and  healthy 
issue.     It  looks  as  though  the  power  that  governs  the  universe 


140       ,  THE    AMERICAN    MERINO 

had  a  great  aversion  to  perfect  sameness,  for  there  are  no  two 
things  in  nature  exactly  alike  ;  and  few  animals  of  the  same 
family  and  line  of  breeding  are  so  near  alike  as  not  to  be  easily 
distinguished  one  from  the  other.  And  because  this  is  so,  it  is 
hard  to  tell  if  ever  a  point  could  be  reached  beyond  which  no 
improvement  could  be  made. 

The  question  of  in-and-in  breeding  often  comes  up  for  discus- 
sion among  the  best  breeders  of  all  kinds  of  stock.  It  is  fully 
settled  to  be  safe,  to  a  certain  degree,  but  in  all  such  experi- 
ments as  these,  a  full  knowledge  of  the  traits  and  qualities  pe- 
culiar to  both  lines  of  ancestry  must  be  possessed  by  the  breeder, 
or  serious  mistakes  will  be  made.  In  sheep  breeding  it  rarely 
occurs  that  any  chance  need  be  taken  in  this  particular.  Near 
relatives  may  be  coupled  with  better  results  when  there  is  a 
sufficient  distance  existing  between,  than  can  those  that  are  too 
much  alike,  when  there  is  no  relationship  existing. 

Correlation  op  Wool  and  ^olk. — It  is  a  common  remark 
of  the  keepers  of  stud-flocks,  that  the  rams  which  scour  the 
most  wool  shear  the  heaviest  fleeces.  This  may  be  set  down  as 
the  major  premise  in  a  favo>rite  Une  of  argument,  while  the 
minor  premise  would  be,  that  the  heaviest  fleece  is  what  the 
wool-grower  wants.  Another  common  ar<j:ument  is  (to  use  a 
homely  comparison),  that  yolk  is  the  peculiar  sustaining  or 
nourishing  element  which  creates  wool,  very  much  as  "  mother" 
is  the  sustainer  and  nourisher  of  vinegar.  (I  shall,  in  another 
place,  refer  more  at  length  to  this  theory). 

The  essential  fallacy  of  this  theory  consists  in  ignoring,  or 
overlooking,  the  fact  that  the  keeper  of  the  stud-flock  seeks  one 
object  and  the  wool-grower  another.  In  the  wool-flock  a  ram 
is  desired  in  whicb  the  oil-follicles  are  so  developed,  correla- 
tively,  as  to  insure  the  highest  possible  development  of  the  wool- 
follicles — but  no  higher.  In  the  stud-flock  a  ram  is  required  in 
\^  hich  there  is  the  highest  possible  activity  of  the  oil-follicles, 
because  it  it  is  his  function  to  mate  with  the  native,  say,  of 
New  Mexico,  in  which  there  is  no  development  of  the  oil- 
follicles  at  all.  The  farmer  should  carefully  observe  this  dis- 
tinction. 

Let  me  illustrate  :  The  famous  '^Patrick  Henry,"  owued  by  L. 
P.  Clark,  of  Vermont,  sheared  thirty-seven  pounds  and  scoured 
nine  pounds  and  ten  ounces  ;  that  is,  his  fleece  lost  in  the 
scouring-tub  seventy-four  per  cent.  A  ram  shorn  at  Sedalia, 
Mo.,  clipped  twenty-eight  pounds  and  four  ounces,  and  his 
fleece,  scoured  by  Walter  Brown  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  cleansed 


FOR    WOOL    AXU    MUTTOX.  147 

seven  pounds  and  fourteen  ounces,  a  loss  of  seveni  y-one  and 
sixty-nine  hundredths  iDer  cent.  Another  one  sheared  twenty- 
eight  pounds  and  fourteen  ounces  ;  scoured  seven  pounds  and 
fifteen  and  one-half  ounces,  a  shrinkage  of  seventy-two  and 
forty  hundredths  per  cent.  Now  take  other  rams,  shearing  a 
medium-weight  fleece,  and  we  find  the  shrinkage  is  not  so  great 
in  percentage.  For  instance,  one  shearing  twelve  pounds  and 
six  ounces,  in  the  same  lot,  showed  a  percentage  of  loss  of  only- 
sixty-cne  and  thirty-six  hundredths.  Others  ran  along  in  the 
same  vicinity.  The  point  I  wish  to  make  and  to  emphasize  is, 
that  the  heaviest  shearers  are  the  heaviest  losers.  It  is  a  com- 
mon saying  and  a  truthful  one,  that  it  is  the  extra  five  bushels 
of  wheat  per  acre  which  makes  the  profit.  This  principle  will 
not  apply  to  the  excessively  yolky  fleeces,  but  rather  that  other 
one  :  "  The  last  straw  breaks  the  camel's  back."  The  great  Ver- 
mont ram  had  to  pi'oduce  eight  pounds  and  twelve  ounces  of 
yolk  to  beat  his  Missouri  competitor  one  pound  and  twelve 
ounces  in  wool.  Such  an  animal  might  be,  and  doubtless  was, 
highly  valuable  for  stud-flock  purposes  ;  but  he  would  not  have 
to  the  ordinary  wool-grower  (unless  his  ewes  were  exceptionally 
dry-topped),  an  increased  value  at  all  commensurate  with  the 
increased  percentage  of  yolk  in  his  fleece.  Of  cour!::3,  this  cele- 
brated ram  possessed  a  peculiar  aptitude  for  the  secretion  of 
yolk  (though  this  can  be  greatly  augmented  in  any  Merino  by 
very  rich,  copious  feeding) ;  but  it  is  only  a  truism  to  assert  that 
yolk  is  valueless,  except  in  so  far  as  it  involves  the  production 
of  wool.  And  surely  no  one  could  be  found  to  believe  that  the 
bushels  of  rich  feed  required  to  produce  eight  pounds  and  twelve 
ounces  of  yolk,  were  not  worth  more  than  one  pound  and  twelve 
ounces  gain  in  wool.  I  do  not  deny  that  such  a  ram  is  a  prize 
in  a  stud-flock,  but  it  is  only  because  the  monstrous  extreme  of 
yolkiness  in  Vermont  is  matched  against  the  monstrous  extreme 
of  dryness  in  New  Mexico. 

Management  in  Summer. — It  is  best  to  have  a  thoroughly 
experienced  workman  to  shear  the  rams,  and  pay  him  his  price, 
even  if  it  is  a  dollar  a  head.  There  are  very  few  shearers  who 
will  give  proper  attention  to  shearing  closely  around  the  horns. 
Oftentimes  quack  shearers  will  only  half  shear,  in  their  hurry, 
because  of  the  inconvenience  and  labor  of  getting  behind  and 
ground  the  horns.  It  is  only  with  some  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  shearer  at  this  point,  that  the  job  is  completed  in  a  workman- 
like manner.  There  are  rams  that  need  their  horns  "  slabbed.'' 
That  is,  their  horns  grow  so  near  their  heads,  as  they  circle,  as 


148  THE   AMERICAN    MERIM  G 

to  come  in  contact  with  the  jaw  bone,  and  if  not  removed  often 
cause  death.  At  shearing-time  this  should  be  attended  to  ;  let 
one  man  hold,  and  with  a  sharp  saw  you  can  soon  remove  a 
wedged-sliaped  piece  that  will  answer  the  requirement.  I  have 
always  used  for  this  purpose  a  small  tenon-saw,  and  the  same 
will  answer  for  removing  the  rudimentary,  re-entering  horns 
which  sometimes  give  trouble  to  wethers. 

Before  the  ram  is  dismissed  to  the  pasture,  it  is  well  to  give 
him  a  very  light  smearing  of  tar  close  around  the  base  of  the 
horns  ;  the  fetor  which  prevails  there  is  apt  to  attract  flies,  and 
maggots  will  result.  It  is  surprising  how  quickly  these  abom- 
inable vermin  will  destroy  a  powerful  ram  if  he  is  not  promptly 
taken  in  hand.  They  soon  invade  the  ears,  and  spread  and 
multiply  with  amazing  rapidity,  until  they  invest  the  whole 
neck  and  breast ;  a  disgusting  stench  arises  ;  fever  is  created, 
and  the  wretched  creature  perishes  in  agony. 

Some  shepherds  fastidiously  object  to  the  tar  being  smeared 
around  the  horns.  There  is  no  necessity  for  it  if  the  ram  is 
housed,  or  kept  close  to  the  house  where  the  owner  will  see  him 
every  day  through  the  summer  ;  but  if  he  is  at  a  distance,  it  is 
best  to  employ  the  tar.  If  very  lightly  put  on  it  will  not  dam- 
Si<^e  anv  wool  which  is  of  value,  nor  injure  the  animal's  appear- 
ance ;  it  is  lasting  in  its  effects,  so  that  it  will  not  have  to  be 
renewed  more  than  once  during  the  summer,  while  tish-oil  or 
whale-oil  will  evaporate  in  a  fortnight. 

To  Prevent  Fighting. — The  ram  must  have  some  company 
during  the  summer,  and  a  little  bunch  of  calves  or  hogs  will 
answer  all  purposes,  if  he  is  kept  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of 
other  sheep.  Or  he  may  be  placed  with  a  few  refuse  wethers 
which  it  is  desired  to  fatten  and  sell.  In  whatever  company 
he  is  kept,  it  is  best  to  have  him  not  very  distant  from  the 
house.  There  is  no  other  domestic  animal  so  restless  and  liable 
to  escape,  especially  as  autumn  approaches,  as  the  ram,  and 
generally  the  more  valuable  he  is  as  a  lamb-getter,  the  more 
restless  and  pugnacious  he  is. 

If  two  or  more  rams  are  kept  together,  they  are  liable  to 
fight ;  first,  in  the  spring  when  freshly  shorn ;  second,  toward 
autumn  when  the  coupling  season  is  coming  on.  When  freshly 
shorn  they  sometimes  fail  to  recognize  each  other,  and  toward 
autumn  the  awakening  procreative  instinct  renders  them  quar- 
relsome. At  this  latter  season  it  is  important  to  keep  other  sheep 
at  a  distance.     I  hiiw  had  two  rams,  which  had  lived  peaceably 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX, 


149 


r^~^ 


150  THE    AMERICAN    MERIXO 

together  all  summer,  become  so  excited  by  a  flock  of  lambs 
that  were  driven  by,  that  they  fell  foul  of  each  other  and  the 
less  vigorous  one  was  well-nigh  killed. 

If  they  are  housed  at  night,  they  may  be  put  into  a  tolerably 
small  apartment ;  by  keei)ing  thus  closely  together  they  do  not 
have  room  to  harm  each  other,  and  will  soon  become  sufficiently 
acquainted  so  that  they  can  be  driven  to  pasture  with  but  little 
fear  of  fighting.  Should  there  be  one  or  more  that  feel  disposed 
to  continue  their  combativeness,  drive  them  to  the  barn,  pro- 
cure a  piece  of  leather  about  seven  inches  square — an  old  boot  top 
will  answer — then  with  a  sharp  knife  cut  as  in  figure  12.  The 
upper  part  of  this  cap  is  placed  on  top  of  the  hea.d,  between  the 
liorns  ;  then  tie  the  two  points  on  each 
side  together,  around  the  horns.  A 
little  practice  will  enable  one  to  tit  a 
cap  in  this  manner  as  nicely  as  a  shoe- 
maker will  fit  a  boot  to  the  foot.  If 
necessary  the  cap  can  be  drawn  tight 
to  the  nose  by  making  holes,  and  tying 
from  the  si.les  underneath  the  jaw. 
This  cap  will  entirely  destroy  a  front  s-      ■ 

view,  and  at  the  same  time  give  a  side  view,  enabling  the 
animal  to  travel  about  where  he  chooses.  This  will  stop  the 
fighting ;  at  least  it  will  so  confound  the  rams  that  they  can 
not  deliver  effective  battle. 

How  TO  Tie  a  Ram. — During  service  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  ram  shut  up  a  greater  part  of  the  time,  if  not  constantly. 
He  will  get  little  enough  exercise  at  best,  and  will  generally 
vent  his  impatience  by  butting.  I  make  no  particular  attempt 
to  curb  him,  but  rather  set  up  some  springy  boards  that  he  can 
not  damage  and  let  him  practice  on  them.  To  restrain  a  ram 
at  all  from  his  natural  liberty  during  his  service  is  a  necessary 
evil,  and  it  should  be  mitigated  every  way  that  is  possible. 

Rams  are  so  restless  under  confinement,  that  where  a  number 
of  them  are  in  one  apartment  it  is  necessary  to  use  the  greatest 
care  in  fastening  them,  lest  one  should  get  loose  and  hammer 
another  one  to  death.  In  the  first  place,  pierce  the  left  horn  in 
front  with  a  gimlet,  then  insert  a  three-sixteenth-inch  staple 
and  ring.  In  this  ring  have  a  leather  loop  six  inches  long,  and 
in  this  loop  insert  the  snap  of  a  etout  dog  chain,  for  if  the  snap 
is  put  directly  in  the  iron  ring,  the  animal  will  work  it  out  in 
spite  of  all  precautions.  Tlie  chain  should  bo  provided  with  a 
swivel,  and  the  T  at  the  end  should  bo  passed  through  an  auger 


FOR   WOOL    AXD    MUTTOX.  151 

hole  in  a  board.  Thus  secured  he  is  generally  safe  ;  but  if  he  is 
exceptionally  restless,  it  will  be  found  advisable  to  attach  a 
stout,  leather  hitching-strap  to  the  ring,  and  tie  him  up  short. 

Feeding. — I  take  it  for  granted  that  every  progressive  shep- 
herd no  longer  follows  the  plan  of  turning  the  ram  in  with  the 
flock,  but  rather  stables  him  and  thereby  husbands  his  powers. 
Some  seek  to  compromise  by  turning  him  into  the  flock  during 
the  daytime,  and  removing  him  at  night,  but  this  way  is  very 
little  better  than  the  other.  The  ram  ought  to  be  taken  up  long 
enough  before  his  service  begins  to  get  the  grass  bloat  out  of 
him,  say  a  week  or  ten  days.  He  should  be  accustomed  gradu- 
ally to  dry  feed,  and  there  is  nothing  better  to  assist  him  in 
the  transit  from  grass  to  hay  than  sweet-corn  stalks  or  pumjv 
kins.  Give  liim  half  a  small  pumpkin  in  hie  box,  flesh  side  up, 
and  let  him  scoop  it  out  at  his  leisure ;  it  will  give  him  exer- 
cise. Furnish  him  all  he  will  eat,  three  times  a  day,  of  the  best 
hay  on  the  farm,  adding  thereto  only  so  much  grain  as  may  be 
necessary  to  keep  him  in  good  stock  condition — a  trifle  lean,  if 
anything,  so  that  he  will  consume  his  grain  and  pumpkin  with 
relish,  and  never  leave  any  in  his  feed-box  to  get  stale.  I  have 
given  rams  wheat,  rye,  oats,  corn  and  bran,  separately  and 
combined,  in  various  ways.  Theoretically,  the  more  glutinous 
grains  are  better  for  him,  but  practically  I  see  no  difference  ;  at 
least  not  when  the  animal  receives  a  liberal  ration  of  pumpkin. 
I  should  hesitate  to  give  so  heating  a  grain  as  corn  to  a  ram,  in 
large  feeds,  unless  he  had  with  it  plenty  cf  green  sweet-corn  or 
grass,  or  pumpkin.  With  a  generous  supply  of  the  latter  he 
will  eat  two  or  three  ears  of  corn  per  day,  and  yet  refuse  water 
for  days  together,  I  have  settled  down  practically  to  corn  for 
a  grain  ration  ;  I  give  one  average  ear  a  day  before  service  be- 
gins, and  two  during  service,  varying  somewhc.t  according  to 
the  size  and  appetite  of  the  ram.  Of  corn,  oats  and  bran  mixed 
in  equal  parts,  I  should  give  three  times  a  day  what  I  could  con- 
veniently grasp  in  one  hand.  By  all  means  contrive  somehow 
to  give  the  ram  some  exercise  and  sunlight  in  a  dry  paddock  or 
barnyard.  A  ram  in  service  requires  above  all  things,  muscle 
— clear  nmscle,  not  clogged  or  dulled  with  fat. 

Pumpkin  should  not  be  given  to  a  ram  after  it  has  once  been 
frozen  ;  it  is  liable  to  give  him  the  scours.  Neither  should  it  be 
unripe  or  rotten,  or  be  given  with  all  the  seeds.  Small  apples 
or  potatoes  are  also  good  as  a  laxative. 

Management  of  the  Service.  —  After  experimenting  con- 


152  THE    AMERICAN    MEKINO 

siderably  with  difierent  methods,  I  have  adopted  the  following 
plan  with  the  breeding  flock  :  I  drive  them  up  in  the  morning 
as  soon  as  the  sun  has  warmed  up  the  atmosphere  and  yard 
them.  Then  I  turn  loose  among  them  the  most  energetic  one 
of  the  rams,  and  follow  him  up  leisurely  with  the  crook  in  hand. 
As  fast  as  he  discovers  the  ewes  which  are  in  season,  I  catch 
them  and  put  them  into  a  separate  enclosure,  untiLthey  are  all 
drafted  out,  or  until  enough  are  secured  for  the  day's  operations. 
Then  I  dismiss  the  flock  for  the  remainder  of  the  day.  It  only 
remains  now  to  sort  them  and  select  those  which  are  best 
adapted  by  their  individual  qualities  to  the  several  rams,  and 
turn  one  at  a  time  into  a  smaller  pen  with  the  appropriate  ram. 
It  is  best  not  to  allow  but  a  single  effective  service.  I  have 
lately  adopted  the  plan  of  permitting  each  ram  to  cover  no 
more  than  three  ewes  per  day,  with  an  interval  of  at  least  two 
hours  between  the  services.  This  eliminates  the  possibility  of 
any  impairment  of  vigor,  and  secures  strong,  healthy  lambs. 

Oftentimes  the  most  valuable  ram  is  slow  and  clumsy,  and  in 
this  case  the  shepherd  can  save  time  and  avoid  trouble  by  hold- 
ing the  ewe  by  the  neck  until  she  has  been  effectively  served. 
If  the  ram's  sheath  hangs  too  low  it  will  be  necessary  to  belt 
him  up  somewhat  tight  with  a  leather  surcingle.  Sometimes  he 
can  be  materially  assisted  by  being  allowed  the  benefit  of  a  lit- 
tle slope  in  the  ground  or  of  a  table  a  few  inches  high. 

Cross  Rams. — When  a  very  good  ram  is  incurably  vicious, 
his  services  may  still  be  retained  by  keeping  him  constantly 
chained  up  and  bringing  the  ewes  to  him.  In  this  way  he  can 
never  get  the  advantage  of  the  shepherd.  At  other  times  he  can 
be  rendered  harmless  by  the  leather  cap  described  on  page  150. 
Constitution  is  of  such  transcendent  importance  in  the  sheep, 
that  a  fighting  ram  is  likely  to  be  exceptionally  valuable,  and 
he  ought  never  to  be  killed  for  that  fault  alone.  Most  cross 
rams,  if  not  too  old,  can  be  subdued  by  two  or  three  vigorous 
kickings  in  the  shoulder  ;  let  the  master  seize  him  by  the  horn 
and  put  in  the  kicks  until  he  has  enough.  A  small  hoop-pole, 
with  two  feet  of  the  little  end  slightly  twisted  to  make  it  pliable, 
can  be  applied  with  good  effect  about  his  nose  and  le^s.  Mr. 
E.  J.  Hiatt  quaintly  says  :  "A  small  mallet  or  light  hammer 
carefully  applied  to  the  head  or  butt  of  the  horns  will  satisfy 
any  ram,  and  we  al^  ays  allow  the  ram  the  privilege  of  deciding 
how  frequent  and  how  severe  the  application  must  be.  We  are 
careful  not  to  encourage  a  quarrel  with  a  ram,  but  when  noth- 
ing else  will  satisfy  him,  the  remedy  should  be  promptly  ap- 


FOR   WOOL   ANT)    MUTTOJ^".  153 

plied."  The  keeper  of  a  stud-flock  generally  has  the  leisure  and 
the  opportunity  to  make  pets  of  his  rains,  to  train  them  up 
gentle  from  the  beginning  ;  but  the  ordinary  shepherd  can  sel- 
dom find  time  for  this. 

"Winter  Treatment. — Rams  usually  come  from  service  into 
winter  quarters  more  or  less  reduced  in  vitality,  and  require 
careful  treatment  during  the  winter.  The  grain  ration  given 
during  service  should  not  be  discontinued  for  some  time  ;  the 
ram  should  be  placed  in  a  clean,  warm  apartment,  freshly  lit- 
tered every  few  days  ;  and  be  allowed  to  have  his  liberty  for  a 
few  hours  every  other  day  or  so,  though  he  may  be  tied  up 
veiy  short  all  the  rest  of  the  time  without  injury.  It  is  well  to 
keep  him  blanketed  until  spring.  A  suitable  blanket  may  be 
made  of  gunny-cloth  or  stout  muslin,  by  cutting  it  to  cover  the 
body  only,  with  loops  of  strings  at  the  corners  through  which 
to  pass  the  legs. 

One  Ram,  or  More. — It  is  undeniable  that  greater  uniformity 
can  bo  secured  by  the  use  of  a  single  ram  ;  and  when  he  is  of 
known  and  tested  power,  he  can  be  depended  on  to  do  an  as- 
tonishing amount  of  work  without  injury,  if  his  vigor  is  pro- 
perly husbanded.  The  noted  ram,  "Fortune,"  owned  by  Mr. 
Solomon  W.  Jewett,  of  Vermont,  used  to  get  about  two  hun- 
dred lambs  every  year.  Mr.  Paris  Gibson  states  that  he  had  a 
ram  which  served  three  hundred  and  twenty  ewes  in  one  sea- 
son, getting  three  hundred  and  fifty  lambs,  then  sliearcd  twenty- 
six  pounds  of  wool,  and  the  following  season  made  an  equally 
good  record.  Dr.  Randall  states  that  the  "  Old  Robinson  Ram  " 
was  believed  to  have  gotten  over  three  thousand  lambs  in  his 
life  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years. 

I  said  above  that  greater  uniformity  could  be  secured  by  the 
use  of  one  ram  than  by  the  use  of  several.  This  would  probably 
be  the  case  in  respect  of  the  form  of  the  lambs,  but  it  might  be 
fairly  questioned  whether  this  result  could  be  expected  in  re- 
gard to  their  fleeces.  The  question  as  to  the  relative  influence 
of  the  male  and  female  in  determining  the  external  and  internal 
characteristics  of  their  progeny,  is  largely  a  speculative  one  and 
does  not  profoundly  concern  the  practical  shepherd. 

But  uniformity  presupposes  perfection  and  precludes  progress. 
If  the  breeder  is  satisfied  that  he  has  a  perfect  flock,  he  will  hot 
wish  to  depai-t  from  the  standard  in  any  respect.  But  I  never 
saw  a  fleck,  even  of  registered  full-breeds,  which  did  not  ex- 
hibit much  variability.     And  indeed  improvement  is  impossible 


154  THE   AMERICAX   MERINO 

in  any  flock  whicli  does  not.  It  is  only  by  selecting  those  in- 
dividuals wiiicli  vary  in  a  useful  or  promising  direction,  and 
repeating  the  process  as  often  as  we  discern  a  departure  toward 
betterment,  that  we  can  elevate  the  standard  of  the  breed.  And 
the  larger  the  flock,  the  greater  will  be  the  number  of  promising 
variations,  the  wider  will  be  our  range  of  seleciion,  and  the 
more  rapid  will  be  our  progress.  Marshall,  as  quoted  by  Darwin, 
used  to  say  of  the  sheep  of  Yorkshire  :  "As  they  generally  be- 
long to  poor  people,  and  are  mostly  in  small  lots,  they  never  can 
be  improved." 

If,  then,  the  size  of  the  flock  will  at  all  justify  the  expense,  it 
is  well  to  have  two,  three  or  more  rams  ;  and  the  most  obvious 
difference  between  them  would  be  that  one  should  be  somewhat 
yolky,  to  serve  the  too  dry-topped  ewes,  and  the  other  the 
reverse.  I  have  never  seen  but  one  flock  approaching  so  nearly 
to  absolute  uniformity  in  body  and  fleece  that  two  rams  could 
not  be  employed  upon  it  to  advantage,  and  that  was  owned  by 
Mr.  Columbus  Cheadle,  of  Morgan  County,  Ohio, — the  work  of 
a  life-time.  i 

"Stubbling,"  Blacking,  Etc. — As  a  general  principle,  the 
owner  of  a  sheep  may  legitimately  do  anything  to  improve  its 
appearance,  which  will  not  injure  its  health  or  procrcative 
powers  ;  but,  if  questioned  by  the  novice  for  honest  informa- 
tion, he  should  honestly  give  it. 

To  shear  a  sheep  with  a  '*  stubble  ''  all  over  the  body  is  wrong, 
even  if  it  is  so  stated  to  the  buyer  or  to  the  committee  of  a  fair, 
because  it  is  then  impossible  to  tell  accurately  what  the  length 
of  fiber  would  have  been  if  shorn  with  ordinary  closeness. 
This  is  a  gross  and  clumsy  fraud.  But  to  "  stubble"  the  cap— - 
which  is  an  almost  universal  practice  with  breeders  now— to 
improve  the  appearance  of  the  head,  is  legitimate,  if  so  stated 
upon  interrogation. 

The  practice  of  dressing  the  fleece  with  lampblack  has  been 
abandoned  by  most  breeders,  even  by  the  dishonest.  It  made 
the  fleece  too  black !  But  burnt  umber  is  very  often  rubbed 
sparingly  on  the  hips,  the  breast,  legs  and  chin,  where  the  wool 
has  become  frayed  and  whitened  by  rubbing,  by  dew  or  rain  on 
the  grass,  or  by  lying  down.  The  umber  uniting  with  the 
natural  yolk  of  the  fleece,  gives  it  a  color  true  to  nature.  There 
is  no  objection  to  this  practice  that  I  am  aware  of  ;  but  if  the 
inexperienced  wool-grower  asks  in  regard  to  it,  a  frank  explan- 
ation ought  to  be  given.  The  application  of  linseed  oil,  merely 
to  add  weight  to  the  fleece,  is  a  contemptible  fraud. 


FOK    WOOL    AND    MUTTOX.  155 

It  is  legitimate  for  the  breeder  to  put  a  light  blanket  of  sheet- 
ini;-  or  guniiT-cloth  on  a  sheep  during  the  summer,  simply  to 
render  the  exterior  of  the  fleece  mellow,  moist  and  smooth  to 
the  touch.  But  he  must  take  care  not  to  over-do  the  matter. 
If  it  is  left  on  more  than  a  day  or  two  in  hot  weather,  the  sheep 
may  perspire  freely,  and  the  fleece  will  then  become  a  muck 
of  macerated  yolk,  odious  to  the  touch,  and  requiring  long 
treatment  to  restore  it  to  a  lively,  elastic  condition.  The 
sheep's  health  will  also  be  injured. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 
THE    BREEDING    FLOCK. 

Selection  of  Breeding  Ewes.— A  great  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  good  ram  should  also  be  sought  in  the  ewe.  The 
most  obvious  point  of  difference,  of  course,  is  determined  and 
accentuated  by  the  sexual  functions.  We  seek  in  a  ram  a  mas- 
sive and  powerful  front,  thick  fore-quarters,  a  cluster  of  volu- 
minous folds  about  the  neck  ;  but  the  ewe  should  be,  if  anything, 
heavier  in  the  hind  quarters,  because  these  are  compelled  to 
carry  the  burdens  and  resist  the  strain  of  the  great  processes  of 
reproduction  and  lactation.  Many  excellent  practical  breeders 
seek  what  they  denominate  a  **  pony  sheep,"  but  I  have  seldom 
attained  the  best  results  with  short-legged  ewes.  It  is  seldom 
that  the  highest  beauty  of  form  is  found  united  to  superior 
breeding  qualities — unless,  indeed,  long  practical  training  has 
taught  us  to  regard  as  the  most  comely,  that  figure  which  is 
found  to  be  the  best  adapted  to  successfully  sustain  the  arduous 
labors  of  maternity. 

I  have  succeeded  best  with  moderately  large,  strong,  rangy 
ewes  ;  of  a  figure  typified — to  use  a  homely  comparison — by  a 
wedge  ;  with  an  even  taper  from  the  shoulders  back  to  the 
hind-quarters.  A  ram  in  full  fleece  should  have  an  almost  per- 
pendicular drop  from  the  rump  to  the  ground  ;  be  thick  through 
the  heart ;  with  a  girth  just  back  of  the  shoulders  about  equal 
to  that  just  in  front  of  the  hind-legs.  But  in  the  ewe,  there 
may  be  tolerated  a  slight  departure  from  the  perpendicular, 
caused  by  a  little  less  fullness  in  the  ham  ;  while  the  rear  girth 


156  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

should  be  from  an  eight  to  a  sixth  greater  than  the  forward.  In 
the  best  sucklers,  especially  when  somewhat  advanced  in  years, 
there  ir  a  deep,  pendulous  fold  along  the  median  line  of  the 
belly,  terminating  in  the  udder — an  indication  of  a  generous 
anatomy  and  a  generous  milker. 

'Mr.  E.  J.  Hiatt's  "Old  Sue,"  which  at  the  age  of  fifteen  had 
shorn  two  hundred  and  seventeen  and  three-quarter  pounds  of 
wool,  and  reared  sixteen  lambs,  had  a  notable  development  of 
the  posterior  half  of  the  body,  conjoined  with  plainness  (both 
technical  and  actual),  as  she  was  totally  destitute  of  "  style." 

It  is  true  of  sheep,  as  of  all  other  animals,  that  those  of  me- 
dium size  are  almost  invariably  the  surest  and  safest  perpetu- 
ators  of  their  race.  Hence  a  small  ewe  should  be  avoided  no 
less  than  an  over-sized  one. 

Points  in  Which  the  Ewe  Prevails. — As  a  general  rule, 
the  ewe  gives  the  size  and  the  ram  the  form  ;  and  it  is  this  fa(;t 
which  to  so  great  an  extent  diminishes  the  danger  which  would 
otherwise  be  incurred  by  the  coupling  of  a  Merino  ewe  with  a 
large  English  ram.  This  law  of  self-preservation,  prevailing  in 
every  species,  which  gives  the  ewe  the  molding  of  the  size,  rele- 
gates to  the  ram  more  or  less  the  shaping  of  other  character- 
istics. So  prepotent  is  the  ram  in  this  respect  that,  if  a  Merino 
ewe  is  impregnated  for  the  first  time  by  an  English  ram,  the 
the  chances  are  that  some  of  her  subsequent  lambs  will  bear 
traces  of  his  blood. 

We  are  often  asked  why,  in  the  increase  of  some  years,  one 
sex  predominates.  It  is  held  by  some  to  be  a  universal  law  that 
exists  in  all  the  different  races  of  animals,  that  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  male  is  to  produce  the  female,  while  the  ten- 
dency of  the  female  is  to  produce  the  male.  The  party  in  which 
the  life  principle  is  the  strongest  at  the  time  of  conception  pre- 
dominates. If  it  be  the  male,  the  issue  will  be  a  female,  and  if 
it  be  the  female,  the  issue  will  be  a  male.  Young  rams  kept  in 
a  thriving  condition  and  bred  to  old  ewes  in  low  condition,  wiU 
be  sure  to  leave  more  ewe  than  ram  lambs.  A  knowledge  of 
this  fact  may  sometimes  be  turned  to  advantage. 

Best  Time  for  Drafting. — Two-year-old  ewes,  which  have 
never  yet  borne  lambs,  at  shearing-time,  of  course,  can  be 
marked  only  with  reference  to  their  fleeces  and  their  size.  But 
ewes  which  have  been  tested  ought  never  to  be  allowed  to  go 
until  the  coupling  season  is  at  hand  before  the  mark  of  con- 
demnation is  affixed— if  it  is  required.     At  lambing-time  the 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  157 

shepherd  ought  to  have  his  stamping  apparatus  constantly- 
ready,  and  if  a  ewe  is  found  to  have  an  incurably  deformed 
teat,  or  disowns  the  second  lamb  in  succession  (one  season  of 
disowning  should  not  condemn  her),  or  yeans  a  little  trifling 
lamb,  or  in  any  other  way  gives  proof  of  her  unfitness  as  a 
breeder,  the  mark  of  dismissal  should  be  promptly  set  upon  her. 
In  all  other  respects  her  record  ought  to  be  made  up  at  shear- 
ing-time, because  in  the  fall  the  wool  will  be  grown  long,  and, 
if  the  farmer  is  not  guided  in  his  selection  by  indelible  marks, 
or  by  a  book  record,  he  is  apt  to  choose  amiss. 

If  the  farmer  is  tempted,  in  order  to  make  out  a  certain  num- 
ber of  breeders,  to  admit  into  the  flock  a  smaU  or  unsightly 
ewe,  he  ought  to  bear  in  mind  that  ten  good  lambs  ai'e  better 
than  fifteen,  of  which  five  are  inferior  ;  and  that  an  ungainly 
lamb  or  ewe  is  almost  certain  to  come  conspicuously  to  the 
front  when  the  flock  is  on  exhibition.  The  rearing  of  a  lamb 
destroys  for  a  long  time  the  ewe's  beauty  of  form  and  compact- 
ness, and  makes  her  of  second-rate  mutton  quality  ;  and  if  fat- 
tened in  the  latter  part  of  the  season,  she  comes  into  a  poor 
market  and  one  which  only  good  wethers  will  fill,  principally 
for  feeding.  But  if  drafted  now  and  thrown  in  witli  the  flock 
of  wethers  she  will  by  next  season,  after  running  farrow,  regain 
somewhat  her  beauty  of  form,  and  also  take  on  flesh  in  the  early 
part  of  the  season,  thus  enabling  her  to  be  turned  off  immedi- 
ately after  shearing.  Again,  the  owner  will  not  be  so  much  the 
loser,  as  she  will  somewhat  make  up  in  wool  for  her  leek  in  not 
having  been  bred. 

Condition  at  Coupling.— Ewes  will  produce  larger  and  bet- 
ter lambs  if  they  are  in  good  plump  condition  at  the  time  of 
coupling  ;  if  not  in  fair  condition  they  should  be  gaining  and  be 
kept  improving  until  coupling,  or  until  they  reach  the  desired 
condition.  They  will  not  breed  well  when  loaded  with  fat. 
Those  which  lost  their  lambs  or  failed  to  conceive  are  hable  to 
become  too  fat  to  be  sure  breeders  ;  when  this  is  the  case  they 
should  be  placed  on  short  pasture  so  as  to  reduce  their  weight. 
The  use  of  valuable  ewes  is  sometimes  lost  for  a  year  or  two  by 
allowing  them  to  become  filled  with  fat ;  such  ewes  are  valu- 
able, their  incHnation  to  take  on  flesh  readily  is  a  good  point. 
but  requii-es  guarding,  that  it  may  not  impaur  their  prolificacy, 

Period  of  Gest  ^tion.  —  Mr.  E.  M.  Morgan,  of  Champaign 
County,  Ohio,  in  a  communication  to  the  Ohio  Farmer  makes 
the  following  statements:     '-The  first  column  shows  date  of 


158  THE   AMERICAN    MERIifO 

putting  ram  with  ewes,  and  the  second,  the  date  of  dropping  of 
first  lamb : 

Nov.  10,  1874 April    16,  1S75 

Oct.    25,  1S75 March  24,  1876 

Oct.    17,  1876 March  12, 1877 

Oct.    12,1877 March    8,1878 

Oct.    21,  1878 March  16,  1879 

Nov.    3,1879 April     2,1830 

Oct.   15,  1880 March  16,  1881 

On  October  21,  1878,  the  ram  was  put  with  the  ewes  in  the 
barn  and  served  three  within  half  an  hour,  which  were  caught 
and  marked.  On  the  16th  of  March  following,  the  first  lamb 
was  dropped  by  one  of  these  ewes,  the  second  on  the  22d,  and 
the  third  on  the  27th  of  March,  making  a  variation  of  eleven 
days  in  the  time  between  first  and  last.  These  three  lambs  were 
all  ewes.  This  seems  to  disprove  the  theory  that  an  animal  will 
go  longer  with  male  than  with  female  progeny.  Taking  the 
average  time  of  all  our  ewes,  we  find  it  to  be  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  days,  for  the  seven  years  we  have  kept  record." 

Time  of  Lambing. — It  is  important  for  the  farmer  to  be  well 
assured  in  his  own  mind  whether  his  circumstances  favor  early 
or  late  lambing.  Latitude  has  much  to  do  in  deciding  this  ques- 
tion ;  likewise  the  size  of  the  breeding  flock,  and  the  convenience 
aDd  comfort  of  the  sheep  house,  or  tlie  contraiy.  I  have  stead- 
fastly advocated  lambing  on  grass,  because  here  in  Southern 
Ohio,  and  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  ewes  in  the  flock,  it  is  undoubtedly  the  wisest 
policy.  In  a  higher  latitude  and  with  a  smaller  flock,  the  case 
would  probably  be  different.  We  know  that  sheep,  as  well  as 
others  of  the  mammals,  are  not  as  good  milkers  in  hot  climates 
as  they  are  in  cooler  ones.  The  excess  of  heat  interferes  with 
the  lactific  functions  and  curtails  the  secretion  of  milk.  My 
belief  is  that  when  a  ewe  does  not  yean  until  the  strong  heat  of 
summer  sets  in,  say  along  toward  the  middle  or  last  of  May,  her 
usefulness  as  a  suckler  is  seriously  impaired.  It  is  different  with 
her  from  what  it  is  with  a  cow.  The  ewe  still  bears  the  thick, 
warm  fieece  which  was  intended  as  a  protection  against  the 
rigor  of  winter  ;  consequently  the  heat  operates  on  her  with  a 
m.uch  greater  and  more  prostrating  power  than  it  does  upon 
the  cow.  As  a  corollary  to  this  proposition,  it  follows  neces- 
sarily that  suckling  ewes  should  be  shorn  before  the  weather 
becomes  hot.  If  they  are  left  with  their  fleeces  on,  the  accum- 
ulation of  heat  dries  up  their  milk. 


FOR  WOOL  AIS^D   MUTTOX.  159 

Feeding  for  Milk. — Ewes  that  are  to  bear  lambs  very  early- 
must  be  fed  for  milk  as  much  as  a  dairy  cow.  The  feed  must 
be  of  a  character  that  will  produce  the  gi-eatest  quantity  of 
milk.  This  can  be  secured  by  providing  plenty  of  clover,  millet 
or  fodder.  Some  very  good  shepherds  recommend  wetting 
these  and  mixing  with  ground  feed.  The  finer  feed  can  be 
made,  the  better  for  any  stock  ;  but  wetting  is  unnecessary,  if 
only  an  abundance  of  water  is  provided.  The  more  feed  can 
be  masticated  and  insalivated,  the  better,  and  wetting  hinders 
this.  But  the  water  should  be  kept  at  a  temperature  not  much 
below  sixty  degrees,  to  induce  pregnant  animals  to  drink  freely. 

May  Lambs. — I  have  found  among  old  shepherds  a  prejudice 
against  "May  lambs  ; "  and  tliis  prejudice  is  founded  principally 
on  the  behef  that  the  burning  sun  of  our  inland  American 
summer  "  stunts  or  wilts  "  the  lambs.  There  is  no  denying  that 
a  May  or  June  lamb,  though  it  generally  shoots  up  for  a  few 
weeks  with  a  rapid  growth,  does  become  stunted  later  on  and 
gets  into  a  decidedly  poor  condition  before  weaning  time,  un- 
less the  ewe  is  an  exceptionally  good  milker,  or  the  lamb  has  a 
ration  of  grain  through  the  summer.  It  should  always  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  ewe  is  not,  like  the  cow,  an  all-the-year-round 
milker ;  the  ewe's  lactific  activity  is  exceptional,  and  though 
very  often,  especially  on  grass,  of  considerable  force  for  a  time, 
it  quickly  ceases.  Hence  it  is  of  great  importance  to  bring  the 
lamb  along  early  enough  and  so  rapidly  that  it  may  be  well 
confirmed  in  its  grass-eating  habits,  and  may  have  acquired 
the  additional  capacity  of  stomach,  required  for  this  less  con- 
centrated food,  while  the  grass  is  yet  lush,  tender  and  inviting 
in  spring.  A  lamb  does  not  take  to  grass  so  readily  if  it  first 
begins  to  eat  it  in  summer  after  it  has  become  dry  and  tough. 

Of  course  there  is  no  foundation  for  the  belief  that  the  sun 
"  wilts  "  a  late  lamb.  I  never  give  myself  any  concern  about  a 
May  or  June  lamb,  if  I  am  only  able  to  provide  nourishment 
enough  for  it ;  for  I  have  often  abundantly  proved,  by  rearing 
them  as  cossets  about  the  house,  that  this  sufficiency  of  aliment 
was  all  that  was  needed. 

Necessity  of  Exercise.— The  Merino  ewe  is  something  like 
the  Texas  cow — not  the  best  of  mothers.  A  native  of  the  desert, 
she  still  retains  in  her  blood  a  remnant  of  nomadic,  oriental 
wildness.  An  industrious,  insatiable  feeder,  accustomed  to  rove 
widely  in  search  of  her  living,  not  tranquil  and  sedentary  like 
the  large-uddered  English  ewe;  like  the  ostrich,  she  is  apt  to 


160  THE   AMERICAN   MERI:N^0 

abandon  her  young,  to  take  care  of  itself.  She  needs  watching, 
and  needs  a  certain  pressure  to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  her  too 
feeble  maternal  instincts. 

Extended  experience  has  taught  me  that  a  Merino  ewe  which 
has  a  copious  flow  of  milk  is  seldom  failing  in  duty  toward  her 
offspring.  The  first  and  paramount  duty  of  the  shepherd,  there- 
fore, is  to  pursue  such  a  prehminary  course  as  will  best  secure 
this  desideratum.  A  regimen  of  roots,  oil-cake  meal,  bran, 
fodder,  clover  hay,  etc.,  will  readily  suggest  itseK  ;  but,  valu- 
able as  these  are,  they  are  not  for  the  Merino  ewe  of  the  very 
highest  importance.  The  article  whichj  in  my  opinion,  holds 
this  rank  is  grass,  and  (perhaps  scarcely  secondary  in  value)  the 
exercise  which  is  necessary  to  obtain  it.  There  is  no  other 
domestic  animal  which  so  eagerly  craves  and  industrioTisly 
searches  for  a  morsel  of  green  feed  cropped  directly  from  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  And  it  is  this  restless,  vagabondizing, 
gormandizing  propensity  of  the  Merino  which  the  shepherd  can 
take  advantage  of  and  promote,  to  the  end  that  he  may  develop 
the  father  feeble  maternal  instinct.  It  is  as  profoundly  and 
universally  true  of  the  lower  animals,  and  especially  of  the 
pregnant  ewe,  as  of  man,  that  they  ought  to  work  for  their  liv- 
ing. Pasturing  (that  is,  a  daily  run  on  a  sod,  whether  it  furnishes 
much  or  next  to  nothing)  means  work,  and  work  means  health  ; 
while  roots  mean  cold-blooded  and  watery  idleness.  There  is 
nothing  else  which  so  strengthens  the  frame  and  enriches  the 
system  with  warm,  red  blood  (and,  by  necessity  of  the  insepar- 
able relation  between  them,  that  of  the  unborn  lamb  also),  as  a 
frequent  ramble  over  the  pasture  lot. 

Even  when  quite  sedentary,  the  ewe  may  be  made  to  give 
milk  with  tolerable  success  by  judicious  feeding  on  oil-cake  meal. 
Perhaps  as  good  a  way  as  any  is  to  make  it  into  a  slop  with 
wheat  bran,  a  tablespoonful  of  oil-cake  to  a  pint  of  bian  per 
head  ;  but  unless  she  has  frequent  and  abundant  exercise,  the 
lamb  will  be  weak,  and  will  need  close  watching  if  dropped  on 
a  frosty  night.  In  the  course  of  my  experience,  I  have  had 
large,  rangy  grade  ewes — and  a  grade  is  popularly  supposed  to 
be  liardier  than  a  full-blood— which  had  been  full  fed  and 
warmly  housed,  drop  large,  finely  formed  lambs,  which  yet 
were  so  flaccid  and  so  nerveless  that  it  would  be  hours  before 
they  could  stand  alone,  and  that  only  after  the  most  assiduous 
attentions  of  the  shepheri,  warming  them  before  the  fire,  rub- 
bing them  with  wisps  of  straw,  etc.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have 
had  full-blooded  ewes,  which  had  roved  nearly  all  day  during 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  161 

the  winter  through  a  com  stubble,  getting  next  to  nothing  in  it 
but  the  exercise,  drop  lambs  on  so  cold  a  night  that  their  feet 
were  frozen  and  deformed  ;  yet  they  got  up,  sucked,  and  were 
lively  as  crickets  in  the  morning,  without  having  received  a 
particle  of  assistance  from  the  flock-master. 

The  English  sheep  books  abound  in  directions  for  the  making 
and  administering  of  cordials,  syrups,  etc.,  and  for  rendering 
assistance  to  ewes  in  labor  ;  but  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  grass- 
made  milk  are  worth  more  than  all  the  nostinims  ever  com- 
pounded. Neither  is  it  necessary  to  defer  the  season  of  lambing 
until  grass  has  grown  green  in  April. 

Rye  for  Pasture. — In  the  latitude  of  Southern  Ohio  a  very 
considerable  growth  of  rye  may  often  be  had  for  pasture  as 
early  as  March  loth.  An  hour's  grazing  on  it  per  day  will  have  a 
surprising  effect  in  stimulating  the  secretion  of  milk  ;  indeed, 
it  is  best  not  to  allow  the  ewes  to  remain  on  it  above  a  half  hour 
the  first  day.  Rye  may  be  sown  for  fall  pasture  as  early  as 
August  1st.  If  the  weather  should  be  very  favorable  there  will 
be  danger  of  its  jointing  before  winter  sets  in  ;  this  can  be  pre- 
vented by  keeping  it  pastured  off.  The  value  of  the  crop  is 
much  injured  if  it  is  allowed  to  joint  or  head  out  in  autumn. 

The  white  rye  yields  the  greater  amount  of  grain,  but  the 
old-fashioned  black  rye  is  hardy,  makes  a  rank  growth,  and  is 
probably  preferable  for  pasture.  It  should  not  be  cropped  too 
close  in  the  fall,  as  its  greatest  value  is  in  the  green  herbage 
which  it  furnishes  for  ewes  and  lambs  before  grass  grows  in 
the  spring.  On  rich  limestone  soils  and  in  low  latitudes,  wheat 
often  makes  such  a  strong  growth  that  it  will  furnish  a  large 
amount  of  grazing  for  ewes  and  lambs  in  March  and  April  ;  and 
there  in  a  mass  of  testimony  to  the  effect  that  such  depasturing 
is  beneficial  to  the  wheat  itself  when  it  is  very  forward. 

Second  in  value — and  on  the  rich  river  bottoms  of  the  West, 
I  would  assign  it  the  first  rank,  on  account  of  the  tendency  of 
rye  to  develop  ergot  on  such  soils — is  an  orchard-grass  rowen,  re- 
served for  this  purpose,  with  its  mixture  of  weather-beaten 
herbage  above  with  green  growth  beneath. 

AcORNS. — In  my  experience  I  have  found  that,  while  acorns 
are  not  only  innocuous,  but  fattening  to  dry  flocks,  they  exert 
an  injurious  effect  upon  ewes  and  goats  in  a  forward  state  of 
pregnancy.  If  they  feed  on  them  for  any  considerable  length 
of  time  while  in  this  condition,  their  young  when  dropped  will 
be  feeble  in  the  legs,  unable  to  stand  or  walk  for  several  days, 


162  THE   AMEr.ICAN   MERIXO 

and  walking  in  a  sort  of  plantigrade  fashion  for  some  time  after 
they  do  succeed  in  getting  on  their  feet. 

Recurrence  of  Ewes. — Wlien  there  is  for  any  reason,  a 
failure  to  conceive,  the  ewe  will  be  in  heat  again,  if  at  all,  in 
about  two  weeks.  To  make  a  provision  for  these  I  manage  the 
coupling  in  the  following  manner :  As  fast  as  the  ewes  are 
served,  I  afi&x  a  special  mark  and  turn  them  into  another  apart- 
ment, which  opens  into  a  small  paddock  or  ram-pasture  kept 
for  this  purpose.  If  allowed  to  go  with  the  flock  again,  they 
would  in  all  probability  present  themselves  again  the  next  day, 
and  so  tax  the  ram  a  second  time  uselessly.  On  the  following 
day,  when  the  main  flock  is  brought  up,  the  little  band  of 
served  ewes  will  also  come  to  the  stable,  and,  after  the  business 
of  the  day  is  over  and  the  main  flock  dismissed,  the  ewes  served 
the  previous  day  can  be  allowed  to  go  with  them. 

If  the  coupling  is  well  managed  there  ought  not  to  be  many 
ewes  that  "miss."  When  the  pasture  is  weak  and  watery,  or 
short  from  dry  weather,  they  ought  to  be  grain-fed  at  the  rate 
of  a  half  bushel  of  shelled  corn  daily  per  hundred,  for  a  week 
before,  and  all  the  while  during  the  service.  It  is  well,  when 
they  are  brought  up  in  the  forenoon  to  keep  them  on  the  sunny 
side  of  the  building  ;  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  have  a  stimu- 
lating effect.  The  ram  ought  to  be  allowed  ample  time  to 
search  out  all  that  are  in  season,  for  there  are  always  some  that 
are  backward  and  will  never  approach  the  ram  or  give  any 
evidence  of  being  in  season.  If  the  ram  is  indifferent  or  logy, 
he  ought  to  be  kept  tied  in  the  shade  between-times.  On 
muggy,  sultry  days,  frequently  twice  the  usual  number  of  ewes 
will  come  in  heat ;  this  will  demand  increased  activity,  it  will 
tax  the  ram  to  the  utmost,  and  sometimes  the  shepherd  wUl 
lose  ground  by  not  having  an  extra  animal  to  fall  back  upon. 

A  sudden  change  to  cold  w^eather  is  also  to  be  guarded  against. 
A  long,  cold  rain,  followed  by  high  winds,  hinders  the  dispatch 
of  business  ;  the  sexual  heat  is  checked  ;  some  ewes  may  pass 
their  season  altogether,  and  thus  two  weeks  will  be  lost.  They 
ought  by  all  means  to  be  housed  during  such  weather. 

The  shepherd  ought  to  use  all  dispatch  to  push  the  coupling 
through  in  thirty  days  or  less.  After  winter  comes  on,  if  there 
is  a  remnant  of  ewes  not  served,  they  will  be  in  heat  no  more 
and  they  are  lost.  Besides,  it  is  tedious  to  have  the  lambing 
drag  at  great  length  in  the  spring. 

"  Teasers." — No  well-informed  shepherd  ever  resorts  to  the 


FOR    WOOL   AJ^'D    MUTTON.  163 

"  teaser  "  in  these  days.  It  was  the  clumsy  device  of  an  un- 
practiced  age  ;  an  outrage  against  nature,  an  imposition  on  both 
ewe  and  ram. 

Age  of  Ewes. — Bringing  her  first  lamb  at  three,  the  average 
Merino  ewe  is  entitled  to  be  released  from  service  at  seven.  It 
is  useless  to  cite  cases — as  I  might  do  by  the  dozen — where  ser- 
vice began  younger  and  continued  longer.  All  rules  have  their 
exceptions.  As  long  as  the  ewe's  teeth  continue  firm  and  sound, 
and  she  stands  up  stoutly  under  her  burden  through  the  winter, 
she  may  be  retained  in  the  breeding  flock  ;  but  let  the  shepherd 
beware  lest  he  should  keep  her  one  year  too  long,  r.nd  before 
spring  lose  both  her  and  the  lamb,  for  then  she  dies  in  his  debt. 
A  ewe  in  a  flock  of  ten  may  bear  lambs  two  or  three  years  longer 
than  one  in  a  flock  of  one  hundred.  In  flocks  of  considerable 
size  the  crones  must  be  weeded  out  rigorousl}^  or  the  flock- 
master  will  suffer  loss. 

Fall  AND  Winter  Lasibs.  —  "Spring  lamb,"  like  "spring 
chicken,"  has  its  own  proper  season  of  the  year,  and  out  of  this 
season  there  will  never  be  any  considerable  demand  for  either. 
In  the  winter  the  appetite  calls  for  fat  mutton,  thick  on  the  rib. 
But  now  and  then  some  ambitious  farmer  dreams  anew  the 
dream  (which  is  as  old  as  the  appetite  for  mutton),  of  growing 
"  spring  lamb  "  the  fall  before.  It  is  a  reversal  of  the  course  of 
nature  which  never  can  prosper  except  in  rare  instances,  under 
peculiarly  favorable  circumstances  and  good  management.  In 
a  communication  to  the  Ohio  Farmer,  Mr.  E,  M.  Morgan,  of 
Champaign  Co.,  O.,  gives  some  experience  which  is  so  interest- 
ing, that  I  quote  the  greater  part  of  it : 

"  In  the  spring  of  1882,  after  washing  our  sheep,  supposing 
that  no  evil  would  result  from  it,  we  let  the  ram  run  with  our 
breeding  ewes  (then  suckling  lambs  dropped  from  March  15  to 
April  15),  until  shearing.  In  the  fall,  about  November  1st,  fif- 
teen or  eighteen  of  these  same  ewes  dropped  lambs,  the  result 
of  letting  the  ram  run  with  them  from  washing  to  shearing 
time. 

"  Wlien  we  began  feeding  for  the  winter,  we  flxed  a  place  in 
one  end  of  the  stable  so  the  lambs  could  enter  and  the  ewes 
could  not,  and  sprinkled  some  bran  and  salt  in  the  trough. 
Very  soon  the  lambs  learned  to  go  there,  and  in  a  short  time 
they  would  run  for  their  pen  to  get  their  rations,  as  greedy  as  a 
litter  of  pigs  for  a  mess  of  milk.  We  fed  them  liberally  through 
the  winter  and  they  came  out  in  the  spring  in  fine  condition. 


164  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

Encouraged  by  their  fine  appearance,  we  turned  the  ram  with 
our  ewes  again,  on  the  9th  of  May,  and  will  try  our  luck  again 
with  fall  lambs.  At  washing  time  this  spring  we  washed  the 
lambs,  thinking  we  would  shear  one  or  two ;  and  if  thought 
profitable,  would  shear  the  whole  lot.  The  first  one  sheared 
clipped  a  fleece  that  weighed  exactly  five  pounds.  Encouraged 
by  this,  we  sheared  the  other  twelve,  and  from  the  lot  got  fifty- 
four  pounds  of  wool,  which  we  sold  along  with  our  other  wool, 
at  the  same  price.  *******  "  The  ewes  came  through 
the  winter  in  fine  condition,  and  when  I  weaned  the  lambs  they 
were  in  much  better  condition  than  I  ever  had  ewes  when  the 
lambs  were  weaned  in  the  faU,  and  sheared  an  average  of  seven 
and  eleven-twenty-sixths  pounds  per  fleece.  A  lot  of  thirty-two 
yearlings,  wintered  with  the  ewes,  clipped  an  average  of  nine 
and  three-sixteenths  pounds  per  head,  all  nicely  washed  wool, 
and  all  sold  at  market  prices.  I  would  say  to  those  who  are 
prepared  to  properly  care  for  fall  lambs  to  give  it  a  trial.  My 
sheep  are  high  grade  Merinos." 

There  is  no  gainsaying  that  a  winter  lamb,  when  it  is  well 
nourished,  will  surpass  the  later  comers  out  of  proportion  to  its 
gain  of  time  at  the  start ;  and  it  wiU  keep  ahead  for  two  or  even 
three  years.  One  year  I  had  fourteen  lambs  dropped  in  Jan- 
uary by  reason  of  a  ram  getting  into  the  flock  prematurely  ; 
with  much  labor  I  saved  ten  of  them.  At  the  age  of  a  year 
they  weighed  sixteen  and  one-half  pounds  per  head  more  than 
the  April  lambs,  and  clipped  about  one  and  one-quarter  pound 
more  wool.  Judged  by  the  eye  alone,  they  were  still  nearly  as 
much  in  advance  at  the  age  of  two  years. 

Ewes  Getting  Cast.  —Ewes  are  liable  in  the  spring,  when 
far  advanced  in  pregnancy,  to  get  on  a  little  slope  with  their 
backs  down-hill,  in  which  condition  they  are  unable  to  rise. 
The  wool  spreads  out  on  the  ground  and  prevents  the  sheep 
from  rising,  when  without  the  fleece  it  would  be  able  to  get  on 
its  feet.  Cattle  will  stiniggle  a  while,  then  rest  and  renew  their 
efforts,  and  they  generally  get  up  ;  but  sheep  get  discouraged 
and  abandon  all  efforts.  In  a  short  time  they  will  bloat  and 
die,  unless  assisted.  The  shepherd  should  be  on  the  lookout  for 
castaways  when  they  are  in  the  field  ;  and  he  should  level  all 
inequalities  in  the  surface  of  the  yard  and  stable  where  breeding 
ewes  are  confined. 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTTO]^". 


165 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


SHEEP-HOUSES  AND  THEIR  APPURTENANCES. 


It  would  be  easy  to  fill  this  volume  with  plans  and  sketches 
of  possible  sheep-houses,  all  of  which  would  be  theoretically 
good.  I  shall  limit  myself  to  such  as  have  been  put  to  the  test 
of  actual  use  and  found  serviceable. 

For  Breeding  Ewes.— The  figure  herewith  presented  is  that 
of  a  building  owned  by  Mr.  C.  Co  Smith,  of  Washington  Co,,  O. 


Fig.  13. — SHEEP-HOUSE  OF   C.    C.   SMITH. — GROUND  PLAN. 

It  is  fifty  by  twenty  feet,  eighteen  feet  high  to  the  eaves,  cov- 
ered with  a  sheet-iron  roof,  two-sided,  with  the  usual  pitch.  It 
is  designed  to  shelter  at  the  most  about  eighty  sheep,  and  is 
used  mostly  for  breeding  ewes  and  as  a  shearing-room  and 
wool-room.  Hence  the  comparatively  small  allowance  of  space 
for  hay  should  not  be  accepted  as  a  guide  for  a  general  purpose 
sheep-house. 

The  lower  story  is  eight  feet  high,  the  second  ten.    The  upper 
story  is  divided  crosswise  into  tw^o  equal  compartments — one 
for  wool  and  one  for  hay — with  a  tight  partition  between. 
Hence  the  hay-mow,  as  I  intimated 
above,  is  too  small  to  contain  a  win- 
ters supply  for  the  flock  below,  a 
point  which  it  is  always  desirable  to 
compass  in  the  average  sheep-house. 
To  curtail  this  mow,  twenty-five  by 
twenty  feet,  as  little  as  possible,  the     — 
owner,  instead  of  throwing  a  girt     - 
across  between  the  plates  to  prevent 
spreading,  put  in  dove-tailed  braces 
from  the  top  of  the  posts  down  to  the  joist  girts,  as  in  figure  14. 

Across  the  wool-room  the  plates  are  connected  by  an  iron  rod. 
The  floor  is  tight  and  smooth,  and  the  sides  ceiled  in  the  same 
fashion.     At  one  comer  of  the  room,  at  one  end  of  the  shearing 


Fig.  14.— BRACE. 


166  THE   AMERICA^q-   MERINO 

table,  there  is  an  elevator  and  cage  large  enough  to  hoist  five  or 
six  sheep  from  the  lower  story  to  be  shorn ;  the  floor  of  the 
elevator  to  serve  as  part  of  the  floor  of  the  room.  This  is  worked 
by  weights.  The  object  sought  in  elevating  the  sheep  to  the 
second  story  for  shearing  is  two-fold — to  avoid  all  dirt  about  the 
shearing  table  and  to  have  the  wool  where  it  is  wanted  for  stor- 
age, in  a  perfectly  clean  place. 

The  wool  racks  ai-e  so  constnicted  that  every  fleece  can  be  in- 
spected without  one  of  them  being  moved.  When  fifteen  or 
twenty  buyers  oome  along  during  the  season  and  look  the  clip 
over,  it  is  liable  to  become  seriously  frayed  and  shredded  if 
heaped  in  the  usual  pyramid  in  the  center  of  the  room.  (By 
referring  to  the  chapter  on  shearing,  the  reader  will  learn  the 
construction  of  these  racks). 

The  building  is  sided  and  battened  perfectly  tigbt.  There  are 
no  sills  ;  the  posts  stand  on  stones.  The  floor  is  of  gravel,  sev- 
eral inches  higher  than  the  surrounding  level,  and  the  siding 
reaches  down  within  two  or  three  inches  of  the  floor.  The  bed- 
ding will  be  so  thick  as  to  reach  up  against  the  siding,  prevent- 
ing a  cold  wind  from  blowing  underneath.  Manure  can  always 
be  removed  much  more  easily  when  several  inches  of  straw  is 
thrown  down  in  the  fall. 

Five  feet  above  the  ground  are  windows,  sliding  laterally, 
with  four  panes  of  glass,  ten  by  sixteen  inches  each.  The  four 
doors,  one  on  each  enci  and  one  on  each  side  midway,  are 
double  ;  the  outer  ones  battened  tight  and  opening  outward  ; 
the  inner  ones  of  slats  and  opening  inward.  The  slats  are  close 
enough  together  to  exclude  chickens.  Thus  the  building  can  be 
ventilated  by  the  slat  doors,  or  all  the  doors  can  be  closed  and  a 
draft  be  allowed  to  pass  overhead  through  the  windows.  The 
end  doors  are  folding-doors,  wide  enough  to  allow  the  manure 
wagon  to  enter.  The  ground  floor  can  be  divided,  as  desired, 
into  two,  three  or  four  compartments,  by  hay-racks  running 
across  the  building,  each  rack  with  a  little  gate  at  the  end  of  it. 
A  cistern  stands  midway  of  one  side,  the  water  from  the  oppo- 
site roof -slope  being  carried  to  it  through  the  building. 

The  cut  fig.  13,  on  the  preceding  page,  shows  the  ground  plan. 

The  second  story  is  lighted  by  small  slat-windows. 

Hay  is  hoisted  into  the  second  story  at  one  end  of  the  build- 
ing wath  a  horse-fork. 

There  is  a  smaller  building  intended  for  a  stove-room  or 
lying-in  hospital,  being  situated  only  a  few  steps  from  the 
large  one  above  described.     It  is  about  fifteen  feet  square,  per- 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTOIT. 


167 


fectly  tight,  double  walls  with  saw-dust  between,  divided  off  by 
liglit  gates  into  eight  or  ten  little  pens,  each  lai-ge  enough  for 
one  ewe  and  lamb.  A  stove  standing  in  the  center  of  the  floor, 
well  heated  up  at  9  o'clock  at  night,  keeps  the  atmosphere  suflS.- 
ciently  warm  through  the  night  to  insure  the  safety  of  the 
weakest  lamb  arriving  before  six  in  the  morning. 

A  General-Pctrpose  House. — I  give  below  a  diagram  of  one 
of  my  own  sheep-houses,  merely  premising  that  I  have  em- 
bodied in  the  description  some  changes  which  subsequent  ex- 
perience taught  me  would  have  been  improvements  to  the 
building.  It  is  forty  by  forty-five  feet,  giving  (without  the 
racks)  eighteen  hundred  feet  of  sui^rficial  area,  which  I  find 
sufficient  for  a  dry  flock  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifty,  or 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  ewes.  I  use  it  principally  far 
the  latter.     It  is  composed  of  a  main  central  frame,  twenty  by 


o  g  6  o 


]°D°D°D'[1 


Fig.  15. — GENEEAL-PUHPOSE  HOUSE. 

forty-five,  and  two  wings  or  sheds,  each  ten  by  forty-five.  The 
main  building  is  seventeen  feet  high  to  the  eaves  ;  this  gives 
ten  feet  storage  for  hay,  and  I  find  by  experience  that  a  body 
of  hay  twenty  by  forty -five  by  ten,  will  comfortably  feed  one 
hundred  and  fifty  sheep  once  a  day  for  two  months.  (Hay  for 
the  rest  of  the  winter  is  pitched  in  from  an  adjoining  barn 
through  a  partition.)  Hay  is  thrown  down  from  the  loft  of  the 
central  building  into  the  wings,  through  chutes  constructed 
something  like  dormer  windows,  falling  into  racks  placed  as 
indicated  in  the  engraving  (the  rows  of  dots  denote  the  posts  of 
the  main  structure). 

At  one  side  is  a  series  of  portable  pens  for  ewes  and  lambs  in 
lambing-time.    The  wings  have  not  quite  so  steep  a  pitch  as  the 


168  THE   AMEEICAX   MEKIXO 

main  bnilding:,  which  is  one-third.  The  elevation  of  the  wings 
at  the  outside  is  only  seven  feet,  which  is  simply  enough  to 
allow  a  span  of  horses  to  pass  under  comfortably  in  hauling  out 
manure.  There  is  not  a  sill  in  tlie  building  ;  all  the  posts  stand 
on  ston^  which  ai*8  planted  on  solid  foundations  of  broken 
stone,  let  down  into  the  ground  about  twenty  inches.  A  sill  is 
useless  in  a  sheep-house  ;  it  is  worse  than  useless,  for  it  is  apt 
to  rot  and  let  the  building  sag  down  one  way  or  the  other.  By 
keeping  all  sills  out,  there  is  afforded  a  free  drive-way  all  about 
the  building,  and  out  through  the  side  of  it  wherever  it  is  con- 
venient to  cut  a  door.  I  filled  up  the  inside  of  the  building  with 
yellow  loam— which  packs  harder  than  almost  anything  else 
except  clay — six  inches  higher  than  the  surrounding  level,  to 
prevent  the  interior  from  being  flooded  in  winter.  In  place  of 
a  sill  I  set  up  thin,  wide  stones  on  edge  inside  the  siding  and 
leaning  against  the  same,  jointed  and  fitted  so  as  to  prevent  the 
earth  from  toucliing  the  siding.  A  corresiDonding  ridge  of  earth 
or  gravel  outside,  tamped  against  the  stones  and  sloping  down 
as  a  spatter-board  for  the  eaves  (though  it  would  be  still  better 
to  have  an  eaves-trough)  will  prevent  the  earth  from  pressing 
the  stones  out  too  much  against  the  siding. 

There  are  nine  windows  in  the  building,  arranged  to  slide 
laterally,  so  that  the  inside  can  be  ventilated  in  muggy  weather, 
as  the  siding  is  very  tight.  There  are  five  doors,  one  oj^ening 
into  the  grain  yard,  one  into  the  fodder  yard,  and  three  for  the 
ingress  and  egress  of  the  manure  wagon.  They  are  sliding- 
doors,  as  I  consider  a  swing-door  on  an  out-building  a  nuisance. 
A  one-and-a-quarter-inch  strip  of  wood  is  faced  with  a  one-and- 
a-half-inch  bar  of  iron,  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  which 
projects  one-fourth  of  an  inch  above  the  wooden  strip  and  fur- 
nishes a  guide  for  the  door  rollers  to  travel  on.  This  strip  put 
on  wdth  two-inch  screws,  one  every  foot,  will  hold  up  ten  times 
the  weight  of  a  door.  The  bottom  of  a  door  has  to  be  confined 
with  stakes,  to  prevent  the  sheep  from  carrying  it  away  when 
they  rush  out  in  great  numbers,  hungry  for  their  feed. 

This  building  is  sided  with  dressed  pine  and  painted  ;  the  old- 
fashioned  linseed-oil  and  white-lead  paints  give  me  better  results 
in  the  long  run  than  any  of  the  modern  ready-mixed  proprietary 
articles.  I  had  it  covered  with  home-made  oak  shingles,  twenty 
inches  long  and  laid  six  inches  to  the  weather.  Where  the  ma- 
terial is  at  hand  these  are  better  and  cheaper  than  sawn  pine 
shingles.  An  iron  roof  is  preferable  to  pine  shingles.  In  one 
end  of  the  building,  overliead,  is  the  wool-room  ;   in  the  other 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  169 

end  the  corn-room,  to  which  the  corn  is  elevated  by  horse-power, 
with  rope  and  pulleys,  in  two  boxes  which  together  fill  the 
wagon-bed. 

A  House  for  a  Small  Flock.— Any  sheep-house  is  defective 
which  is  not  provided  with  facilities  for  securing  perfect  ventil-. 
ation  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  for  closing  it  up  tight 
in  severe  weather,  The  Merino  is  intolerant,  above  all  things, 
of  a  foul,  reeking  atmosphere  and  dampness  underfoot.  Inside 
slat-doors,  as  in  ]Mr.  Smith's  sheep-house,  are  excellent ;  another 
very  good  arrangement  consists  of  doors  hinged  on  the  upper 
side,  so  that  they  can  be  dropped  down  during  storms  accom- 
panied by  wind. 

So,  also,  is  any  sheep-house  defective  which  has  no  hay-loft, 
although  a  mere  shed  or  wind-break  may  be  constnicted  with- 
out one.  But  all  hay-lofts  should  have  a  perfectly  tight  floor. 
I  have  seen  sheep  going  around  with  hay-seed  sprouted  and 
the  grass  growing  out  of  the  wool  on  their  backs. 

A  building  twenty  feet  wide  will  comfortably  house  two 
sheep  for  every  foot  in  length  (if  not  breeding  ewes).  Thus  fifty 
feet  in  length  would  accomodate  one  hundred  sheep.  It 
should  have  its  length  running  east  and  west,  then  it  will  make 
a  more  effective  wind-break  for  the  yard  attached  to  it.  A  rack 
running  centrally  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  except  four 
feet  at  each  end,  will  give  feeding-room  for  all  the  sheep.  This 
rack  may  be  connected  at  the  top  with  a  tight  board  hopper 
that  reaches  to  an  opening  in  the  otherwise  tight  flooring  of  the 
hay-loft  above.  This  sheep-house  can  be  divided  into  as  many 
rooms  as  the  occasion  may  demand.  When  the  hay  is  put  into 
the  mow  some  short  strips  or  boards  are  laid  across  the  opening 
in  the  floor  to  the  rack  below,  and  the  hay  is  put  in  one  con- 
tinuous mow  the  whole  length  of  the  building.  After  the  mow 
has  become  settled,  just  before  winter  sets  in,  a  hay  knife  is 
used  to  cut  a  hole  three  feet  wide  down  to  the  opening  in  the 
floor.  The  hay  thus  cut  out  is  flung  up  on  the  mow  that  by 
this  time  has  settled  enough  to  receive  it.  The  hay  is  put  into 
this  mow  through  convenient  doors  in  the  side  of  the  building 
made  for  that  purpose,  and  is  given  to  the  sheep  by  simply 
pitching  it  down  into  the  rack.  There  is  no  wasting  of  hay  by 
this  means  of  feeding,  and  the  flock  can  be  fed  without  having 
to  be  turned  out  of  doors  into  a  storm. 

Grouping  of  Sheep-Houses.  —  When  farm  buildings  are 
closely  grouped,  if  one  of  them  takes  fire,  all  will  bum.     But  it 


170 


THE    AMERICAN"   MERIi^O 


is  better  to  incur  this  risk  than  to  compel  one's  self,  by  distribu- 
ting the  buildimgs  about  over  the  farm,  to  travel  on  a  winter's 
morning  a  half-mile  or  a  mile  in  the  snow  or  the  storm.  Four 
hundred  Merinos  can  be  wintered  in  perfect  health  and  good 
condition  on  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  if  proper  diligence  is  used 
in  cleaning  out  the  stables  and  keeping  down  the  ammonia.  I 
make  this  assertion  understandingly,  because  my  experience  has 
demonstrated  the  entire  practicability  of  so  doing. 

Besides,  it  is  very  desirable  to  secure  for  every  flock  on  the 
farm,  as  great  a  variety  of  feed  as  possible  ;  hence  it  is  more 
convenient  to  mass  together  the  straw,  hay,  fodder,  millet  and 
the  various  kinds  of  grain  at  or  near  the  farm  headquarters, 
than  it  is  to  parcel  them  out  in  smaller  lots  in  three  or  four  dif- 
ferent places.  It  is  inexpedient  to  give  one  flock  all  the  straw, 
another  all  the  fodder,  etc.;   neither  is  it  convenient  to  drive 


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Fig.  16. — GROUP  OP  THREE  BUXLDINGS. 
h,  House  ;  p,  Pump  :  1,2..  3,  4, 5,  Grain  Troughs. 

the  flocks  about  in  a  rotation  through  sheep-houses,  separated  by 
considerable  distances,  in  order  to  secure  this  very  desirable 
alternation  or  variety  in  feed.  I  find  it  best  every  way  to  group 
the  stables  about  headquarters,  and  then  during  the  summer 
collect  near  them  all  the  various  feed-stuffs  required  for  their 
support  through  the  winter. 

Figure  16  shows  a  group  of  buildings  in  which  the  grain-yard, 
open  only  on  the  east,  is  protected  from  three-fourths  of  the 
winds  ;  it  is  accessible  from  all  the  stables.  The  troughs  should 
be  about  eight  feet  apart,  to  allow  a  row  of  sheep  to  stand  on 
one  side  of  each,  with  room  enougli  for  others  to  run  along 
between.  To  prevent  the  sheep  from  jumping  into  the  troughs 
or  over  them,  which  they  are  extremely  likely  to  do,  a  row  of 
stakes  must  be  driven  along  one  side  of  each  trough  and  two 


FOR   WOOL  AJ^D   MUTTON.  171 

slats  nailed  to  them  ;  the  lower  slat  is  about  nine  inches  above 
the  trough,  the  upper  one  about  four  feet  above  the  ground. 
This  grain-yard  will  have  to  be  lower  thau  the  floor  of  the  three 
houses,  else  the  water  falling  into  it  may  run  into  them.  The 
plan  contemj)lates  two  fenced  yards  on  the  east  side  of  the  group — 
one  for  the  right-hand  the  other  for  the  left-hand  stable.  If  any 
considerable  amount  of  orts,  stalks  and  manure  accumulates  in 
these  two  yards,  it  wiU  obstruct  the  drainage  of  the  grain-yard 
before  spring  ;  and  to  relieve  the  latter  it  wiU  be  necessary  to 
run  a  drain-tile  under  some  one  of  the  three  houses,  according 
to  the  slope  of  the  ground. 

The  flock  on  the  west  side  of  the  group  can  be  accomodated 
by  a  yard  on  that  side,  which  will  have  to  be  screened  from  the 
west  and  north  winds  by  a  high,  tight  board  fence.  The  doors 
are  so  aligned  that  a  manure-wagon  can  be  driven  lengthwise 
through  either  of  the  three  houses. 

Doors  and  Gates. — I  have  found,  in  the  course  of  long  per- 
sonal experience  in  feeding  sheep,  that  a  door  or  gate  through 
which  a  hundred  grown  sheep  are  to  rush,  eager  for  their  feed 
of  grain,  must  be  so  constructed  that  it  can  be  opened  in  the 
quickest  possible  way.  A  door  swinging  out  laterally  is  apt  to 
be  obstructed  by  snow-drifts,  ice,  orts,  manure,  etc.;  besides 
which,  it  is  always  swinging  open  in  the  wind  when  it  is  needed 
to  be  shut,  and  vice  versa.  Then,  too,  no  matter  which  way  it 
opens,  when  the  time  arrives  for  it  to  be  opened  the  sheep  are 
very  often  huddled  against  it  so  that  it  cannot  be  moved.  If 
swing-doors  are  used  at  all,  they  ought  to  be  folding-doors,  care- 
fuUv  hung  in  such  fashion  as  to  avoid  all  obstacles. 

After  experimenting  with  several  kinds  of  doors  and  gates  I 
have  adopted  the  following  :  Where  the  side  of  the  stable  is 
low,  I  have  a  sliding-door,  eight  feet  long,  hung  on  rollers  and 
a  slide  as  described  earlier  in  the  chapter.  Wliere  the  side  of 
the  stable  is  high  enough  to  admit  it,  I  have  a  hoist-gate,  of  the 
same  length,  suspended  from  a  pulley  overhead  with  weights 
enough  to  balance  it.  It  should  be  made  of  very  light  slats,  set 
close  enough  together  to  prevent  the  sheep  from  getting  their 
heads  between  them,  as  the  gate  is  hoisted.  The  frame-work 
or  guide  on  each  side,  in  which  the  gate  plays  up  and  down, 
must  be  nicely  adjusted  and  true,  and  it  is  well  to  have  small 
pulleys  let  into  the  outer  sides  of  the  heel  and  toe  posts,  to  ob- 
viate friction.  An  iron  rod  fastened  to  each  of  the  posts,  bent 
upward  and  provided  with  a  loop  in  the  middle  to  receive  the 
rope,  is  the  best  attachment  for  hoisting  the  door. 


172  THE   AMERICAJs^   MERINO 

Where  a  gate  is  required  in  a  yard,  through  which  a  large 
flock  must  pass  quickly  several  times  a  day,  it  is  extremely  im- 
portant to  have  it  so  fu'ranged  that  they  can  pass  through  with- 
out friction.  The  best  gate  is  a  j)anel  of  portable  fence,  twelve 
feet  long  and  five  feet  high,  made  of  slats  close  enough  together 
to  exclude  the  sheeps'  heads,  light  but  strong,  and  put  together 
with  clinch-nails.  This  can  be  kept  closed  by  some  simple  fast- 
enings at  each  end.  When  these  are  loosened  the  gate  is  thrown 
to  the  ground,  and  the  flock  rush  pell-mell  over  it. 

Feed-Racks. — The  purpose  of  a  feed-rack  is  two-fold  : — 

1.  To  keep  the  feed  in. 

2.  To  keep  the  sheep  out. 

The  first  and  greatest  requisite  toward  the  making  of  a  good 
hay -rack  I  would  formulate  thus  :  Cut  hay  green.  That  is  to 
say,  if  the  hay  is  thoroughly  good  the  sheep  will  stand  quietly 
and  eat  it ;  but  if  it  is  inferior  they  will  continually  run  to  and 
fro,  pulling  out  a  little  here  and  a  little  there,  chewing  the  heads 
off  as  they  run,  and  dropping  the  remainder  underfoot. 

With  regard  to  the  first  point  above  mentioned,  I  may  say 
that,  so  far  as  my  own  experience  goes,  when  the  hay  is  briuht 
and  sweet,  I  have  found  the  old-fashioned,  slatted  box-rack  good 
enough  for  all  practical  purposes.  And  when  the  hay  is  not  good, 
no  rack,  however  ingenious,  will  prevent  sheep  from  wasting 
more  or  less  feed.  I  will  enumerate  some  general  principles 
which  ought  to  be  observed  in  the  construction  of  all  racks  : 

1.  Portableness.  A  rack  fastened  down  anywhere,  though  it 
will  undoubtedly  wear  longer,  is  objectionable.  It  is  inconve- 
nient to  remove  manure  from  beneath  it,  and  it  cannot  be  used 
to  partition  off  a  house  into  compartments  of  different  sizes  and 
shapes  to  suit  an  emergency.  There  is  nothing  better  for  this 
pur^DOse  than  a  portable  rack. 

2.  A  tight  floor.  Eveiy  sheep-house  should  have  the  earth 
for  its  floor,  and  if  the  rack  has  no  floor  of  its  own  a  great  deal 
of  tine  feed  will  mold  on  the  ground  and  be  lost. 

3.  Sufficient  elevation.  In  every  flock  of  considerable  size,  no 
matter  how  well  bred,  tliere  will  be  some  leggy  animals  that 
will  never  be  satisfied  until  they  ai'e  inside  the  rack.  The  rack 
should  be  forty  inches  high. 

4 .  Separation  of  hay-rack  and  grain-trough.  Many  of  the  best 
practical  shepherds,  with  small  flocks  to  care  for,  by  various 
contrivances  unite  rack  and  trough  together ;  but  in  my  own 
experience,  especially  with  large  flocks,  I  always  found  these 


For.   WOOL   AXD   3IUTT0if. 


173 


objectionable.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  prevent  troughs  so 
situated  from  becoming  receptacles  for  dung.  In  any  event, 
they  have  to  be  cleaned  out  at  every  feed,  else  the  grain  will  be 
mingled  with  orts,  chaff,  seed,  etc.  Out-door  troughs  coUect 
snow  and  ice,  it  is  true,  but  that  is  all,  and  they  do  not  require 
to  be  cleaned  half  as  often  as  troughs  attached  to  racks.  Never- 
theless I  have  figured  further  on  some  of  these  combinations. 

Racks  are  single  or  double  ;  that  is,  the  sheep  reaches  through 
between  one  set  of  slats  or  between  two  sets.  There  is  no  great 
gain  in  a  rack  made  double,  except  that  a  place  is  furnished  for 
a  feed-trough,  which  is  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  hay-rack, 
between  the  outer  and  inner  sets  of  slats.  In  a  double  rack  the 
sheep  is  prevented  from  thrusting  its  neck  full  length  into  the 
hay  and  cannot  get  chaff  into  its  wool.  This  is  unimportant, 
however,  unless  sheep  are  to  be  shorn  immediately  at  the  close 
of  the  feeding  season  ;  if  they  run  on  pasture  a  few  weeks  the 
chaff  will  work  out  of  the  neck-wool  of  its  own  accord. 

A  single  rack  sliould  be,  for  lambs,  about  two  feet  wide  ;  for 
grown  sheep,  about  thirty  inches.     This  width  should  enable 


9 
9 

• 
• 

* 

* 
• 
» 

• 

b 

Fig.  17. — END  VIEW,  SINGLE  BACK.      Fig.  18.— END  VIEW,  DOUBLE  EACK. 

two  sheep,  standing  on  opposite  sides,  to  reach  the  middle.  It 
may  be  of  any  length  desired  ;  fourteen  feet  is  convenient.  For 
lambs  it  need  not  be  over  thirty  inches  high.  There  ehould  be 
about  nine  inches  space  between  the  top-board  and  the  bottom- 
board  ;  the  slats  four  inches  wdde ;  the  spaces  between  them 
eight  inches  wide  for  grown  sheep,  six  inches  for  lambs. 
This  gives  each  lamb  ten  inches  space  to  stand  in,  each  grown 
sheep  a  foot.  All  edges  should  be  rounded  off  to  prevent  tear- 
ing of  wool.  The  coraer  posts,  four  in  number,  may  be  about 
four  inches  square.  An  end  view  is  shown  in  figure  17. 
Figure  18  represents  the  end  of  a  double-rack,  or  an  inside 


174 


THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 


V-shaped  rack  and  an  outside  perpendicular-sided  one.  The  in- 
side rack  is  made  of  slats  nailed  on  a  V-shaped  trough  which  is 
inverted  and  nailed  down  on  the  floor  of  the  rack. 

Figure  19  shows  a  V-shaped  rack  with  a  feed-trough  at  the 
bottom  on  each  side.  The  rack-sticks  are  round  ;  they  are  let 
into  the  bottom-plank  by  auger-holes,  and  into  the  top-boards 
the  same  way. 

Figure  20  is  an  end  view  of  another  double-rack  ;  two  V-shaped 


Fig.  19.— SINGLE   RACK  AND 
FEED-TUOUGH. 


Fig.  20.— END  VIEW,    TWO 
DOUBLE-KACKS. 


racks  inside  of  one  square  one,  with  a  feed-trough  at  the  bottom 
of  each. 

Cisterns  for  Sheep-Houses.— Tlie  importance  of  having  a 
supply  of  water  in  the  winter  not  below  the  temperature  of  fifty 
degrees  is  so  great,  especially  for  breeding  ewes,  that  nothing 
will  justify  the  flock-master  in  neglecting  it.  To  put  in  and  equip 
a  one  hundred  and  fifty-barrel  cistern,  with  aU  its  appurtenances 
of  tin  eaves-troughs,  spouting,  etc. ,  costing  twenty-five  dollars, 
or  such  a  matter  besides  the  labor,  is  one  thing.  To  sink  a 
fifty-barrel  cistern,  wall  it  and  plaster  it  one's  self,  and  furnish 
everything  required  about  it  of  wood,  made  by  one's  own  hands, 
and  costing  altogether  not  above  six  or  seven  dollars,  is  another 
and  very  different  thing. 

I  do  not  say  that  every  flock-master  should  attempt  to  do  all 
this  work  himself,  whatever  his  circumstances,  but  if  he  feels 
particularly  poor,  he  can  do  it  and  keep  the  money  it  would  cost 
in  his  pocket. 

A  cistern  seven  feet  across  and  six  feet  deep  will  contain  fifty 
barrels.  But  a  deep,  bottle-shaped  cistern  is  better — say  ten  feet 
deep  and  five  feet  across.  Seventy-five  cents  will  pay  for  the 
digging.  If  the  soil  is  a  stiff  tenacious  clay,  or  soapstone,  the 
brick  wall  need  not  go  below  the  frost  line.    In  most  cases, 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOIN".  175 

however,  I  should  wall  it  to  the  bottom  ;  it  is  safer,  and  cheaper 
in  the  end.  Brickbats,  costing  half  price,  will  do  just  as  well 
as  whole  bricks.  One  thousand  of  these,  costing  two  dollars, 
(equal  to  five  hundred  bricks  at  half  price)  will  lay  the  wall.  A 
barrel  of  Louisville  cement,  two  dollars,  and  two  barrels  of  sand 
complete  the  bill.  The  bricks  can  be  laid  in  clay  mortar  ;  the 
cement  is  only  needed  for  the  inside  plastering. 

In  the  lower  portions  of  the  cistern  every  brick  (laid  the  long 
way,  and  the  broken  end  chipped  off  somewhat  square)  must  be 
jammed  back  firmly  against  the  solid  earth  to  resist  the  pressure 
of  the  water.  The  inner  surface  of  the  wall  must  be  kept  as 
even  as  possible  to  receive  the  plastering. 

Observing  the  bottle-shape  (not  the  square-shouldered  bottle, 
but  the  sloping),  the  builder  will  begin  three  or  four  feet  below 
the  surface  to  draw  in  his  wall  slowly,  in  such  fashion  as  to 
form  a  mouth  about  eighteen  inches  across  at  the  surface.  A 
wall  curving  in  so  gently  as  this  can  be  laid  by  any  farmer  ;  a 
broad,  bold  arch  would  require  a  skilled  mason.  Bear  in  mind, 
the  cistern  under  consideration  is  only  five  feet  across  at  bot- 
tom. To  build  this  kind  of  a  neck,  of  course,  the  operator  can 
no  longer  thrust  the  bricks  back  against  the  solid  earth,  as  he 
did  at  the  bottom.  They  must  be  chipped  at  the  ends  to  bear 
firmly  against  each  other,  and  laid  flat,  not  with  a  pitch  inward 
as  they  are  when  a  mason  is  rounding  an  arch.  Hence  the  last 
course  at  the  surface  is  flat  and  does  not  need  an  iron  collar  to 
keep  it  from  falling  in.  An  earthenware  elbow  must  be  intro- 
duced near  the  top  for  the  reception  of  the  conductor ;  also  a 
waste  pipe.  The  space  between  the  solid  earth  and  the  brick 
wall,  down  to  the  line  where  the  latter  begins  to  curve  in,  will 
have  to  be  puddled  with  clay  or  loam. 

After  the  brick-work  has  stood  a  few  days  the  plastering  can 
be  done.  One  part  of  cement  to  two  of  sand  is  the  rule.  The 
helper  will  have  to  be  trained  to  mix  it  of  the  right  consistency. 
The  idea  that  it  has  to  be  mixed  in  very  small  quantities  at  a 
time  to  keep  it  from  setting  is  erroneous.  All  that  is  requisite 
is  to  keep  the  mass  wetted  and  stirred. 

The  top  will  be  finished  off  with  a  square  box  of  oak  plank,  a 
foot  deep.  Against  this  box  the  earth  can  be  banked  up  to  pro- 
tect the  brick-work  from  injury  by  frost,  and  also  afford  a  foun- 
dation upon  which  the  pump  can  be  placed. 

Watering  Troughs. — I  have  tried  various  ways  of  watering 
sheep  in  the  sheep-house,  including  plain,  three-cornered  wood* 


176  THE  AMERICAN   MEEIKO 

en  troughs,  old  iron  sugar  kettles,  tubs,  etc. ;  but  they  all  proved 
unsatisfactory.  Sheep  are  so  anxious  to  get  tiie  cleanest,  fresh- 
est water,  to  drink  at  the  fountain  head  or  next  to  the  spout, 
that  they  crowd  each  other  hard  ;  any  appliance  has  to  be  made 
solid  to  resist  pressure,  and  of  such  shape 
and  elevation  that  they  cannot  get  into 
the  water  and  foul  it.  All  permanent 
troughs  in  the  stable  are  open  to  objec- 
tion, in  that  they  have  to  be  low  enough  -,.^  ^^  _ 
to  accommodate  sheep,  and  this  makes  ^^^;^  'v^'^e^tuo^gI' 
them  a  constant  receptacle  for  dung.  One 

way  of  remedying  this  is  a  board  nailed  on  slanting,  in  the 
fashion  shown  in  figure  31. 

The  board  allows  the  sheep  to  reach  over  and  drink,  and  at 
the  same  time  keeps  out  the  manure  tolerably  well.  The  board 
cover  should  be  eight  inches  wide  for  mature  sheep,  reaching 
two  inches  over  the  edge  of  the  trough. 

Wool-Room. — No  permanent  shearing-room  is  needed,  unless, 
which  is  not  desirable,  it  is  also  used  as  a  wool-room.  A  shear- 
ing-table can  be  set  up  or  hinged  anywhere  against  the  side -of 
the  stable,  on  trestles  about  two  feet  high,  though  some  shearers 
prefer  a  table  higher  than  this,  while  others  want  a  lower  one. 
A  table  four  feet  wide  will  accommodate  a  shearer  for  every 
four  feet  of  its  length.  After  shearing  is  over  this  table  can  be 
turned  back  on  its  hinges  and  the  trestles  can  be  stored  away 
for  future  use. 

In  the  wool-room  will  be  found  the  press  and  sheep-hook, 
already  described  ;  a  small  grocer's  scales  with  a  set  of  weiglits, 
and  a  light  slat  frame  to  be  attached  to  one  arm  of  the  balances, 
for  receiving  the  fleeces  ;  also  a  set  of  wooden  letters  and  paint 
for  marking  the  sheep ;  shears ;  toe-shears  ;  ear-tags  ;  medical 
and  surgical  appliances,  etc. 

A  very  good  table  on  which  to  spread  and  fold  fleeces  can  be 
made  by  placing  some  old  doors,  or  a  table-top  made  for  the 
purpose,  on  top  of  a  hay-rack  standing  near  the  wool-press. 

Shearing-Cards. — To  prevent  false  counting  by  the  shearers, 
it  is  well  for  the  farmer  to  provide  himself  with  a  set  of  shear- 
ing-cards. Let  there  be,  for  instance,  fifty  marked  A,  a  like 
number  marked  B,  etc.  In  the  morning  each  shearer  takes  all 
the  cards  marked  with  a  certain  letter.  Whenever  he  deposits 
a  fleece  on  the  table  he  throws  down  one  of  the  cards  upon  it. 
The  cards  are  taken  up  by  the  wool  tier,  or  overseer,  and  at 
night  they  indicate  the  number  of  sheep  shoi  n  by  each  man. 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOi^.  177 

A  Shearer's  Table. — While  it  is  not  the  purpose  or  province 
of  this  work  to  bring  into  notice  proprietary  articles  of  any- 
kind,  yet  I  deem  it  not  amiss  to  briefly  call  attention  to  such  ^ 
labor-saving  inventions  as  are  of  undoubted  utility  to  tiie  flock- 
master.  Such,  for  instance,  is  a  "Self-adjusting  Shearer's 
Table,"  of  which  it  is  said  :  "  It  holds  a  sheep  in  any  desired 
position,  80  that  the  shearer  stands  on  both  feet  and  has  the  use 
of  both  hands,  and  the  wool  when  shorn  is  never  '  kicked '  or 
torn  and  is  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  the  wool  box.  The 
invention  was  made  by  a  Mr.  Addison,  of  Ohio.  It  is  adjusted 
in  a  moment  to  any  sized  sheep,  and  the  position  of  the  sheep  is 
changed  by  touching  a  spring.  It  will  be  specially  '  the  thing' 
for  shearing  the  wrinkly,  heavy-fleeced  Merino,  as  the  sheep  is 
held  in  an  easy  position  and  the  shearing  quickly  performed." 
I  never  saw  this  particular  device,  but  have  witnessed  the  oper- 
ations of  one  very  similar.  It  consisted  of  a  wooden  bowl,  in 
which  the  sheep  was  placed  on  its  buttock  and  strapped  to  a 
light  frame-work  standing  up  at  the  proper  angle  for  the  sheep 
to  rest  in  while  beinn;  shorn. 


CHAPTER    XYIII. 
WINTER  MANAGEMENT. 

Yarding. — Perhaps  the  most  vigorous  and  piquant  defense  of 
the  loose-ranging  system  of  wintering  sheep,  that  has  come  to 
my  notice,  was  one  contributed  to  the  Ohio  Farmer  by  Mr.  Simon 
Smith,  of  Harrison  Co. ,  Ohio,  the  owner  of  a  flock  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pure  At  wood  Merinos.  He  says  :  "  The  reason  I  don't 
house  my  sheep  is  because  they  must  have  exercise  at  will  to  keep 
them  healthy,  and  must  be  exposed,  not  abused,  to  make  the 
wool  grow  long.  I  do  not  grain  them,  because  grain,  if  properly 
fed,  makes  tlie  fat  too  solid  (except  to  butcher)  for  stock  sheep. 
It  also  produces  grease  or  gum  in  the  fleece,  which  (especially  if 
housed)  excludes  the  air  from  the  roots  of  the  fibers,  which 
tends  to  shorten  the  staple.  Some  think  grain-fed  sheep  pro- 
duce more  wool,  when,  in  fact,  four-fifths  of  the  gain  is  grease. 
Sheep  that  are  grained  and  housed  will  not  live  out  half  their 
days.     What  I  consider  abuse  is  to  confine  them  to  filthy  pas- 


178  THE    AMERICAN   MERINO 

tures  or  force  them  to  stand  in  a  bleak  wind,  or  impatiently  to 
bleat  at  an  empty  rack,  or  gjiaw  the  bottom  of  the  salt  box.  I 
forgot  to  say  that  a  sheep  with  a  wrinkly,  greasy  or  gummy 
coat  cannot  stand  inclement  weather." 

In  another  place  he  says  :  ' '  Experience  has  taught  me  that 
sheep  will  spread  their  own  manure,  trim  their  own  tails,  pro- 
vide their  own  blankets  and  make  their  own  pr-^gnostications 
of  the  weather,  if  managed  in  accordance  with  nature." 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  small  flocks,  even  of  full- blood 
Merinos,  if  kept  on  a  tough  sod,  with  bushes  and  bitter  browse, 
and  clumps  of  trees  for  a  wind-break,  with  a  moderate  daily 
feed  of  corn,  either  shelled  or  broken  one  ear  across  another, 
will  take  the  storms  of  winter  with  impunity  and  come  through 
thriving,  with  red  noses,  long,  clean  wool,  and  healthy  systems 
which  will  not  scour  a  particle  when  the  grass  grows  green  in 
the  spring.  But  with  larger  flocks,  where  the  feeding  of  hay  or 
fodder  is  necessary,  the  objection  to  the  ranging  system  is  that 
the  sheep  do  not  of  their  own  accord  regulate  the  matter  of  ex- 
ercise judiciously.  On  a  warm  day  they  will  rove  all  day,  and 
on  a  cold  day  not  at  all.  If  the  fodder  is  thrown  out  to  them  in 
an  open  field  they  will  wander  about  the  field,  coming  to  it 
three  or  four  times  a  day  and  browsing  a  little  while,  then  they 
are  off  again.  On  a  veiy  cold  day  they  will  stand  in  the  lee  of 
the  shed  or  of  the  fence — if  nothing  better  offers— and  lose  a 
gi-eat  deal  of  time  when  they  would  be  eating  if  the  feed  were 
close  at  hand,  and  in  a  place  not  exposed  to  the  wind.  The 
sheep  is  very  irresolute  about  breaking  away  from  a  warm  shel- 
tered place  and  setting  out  in  search  of  feed.  On  an  excessively 
cold  day  the  sheep  cannot  be  forced  to  take  exercise,  unless  they 
ai*e  driven  to  water  or  something  of  that  sort ;  and  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  attempt  it,  especially  if  there  has  been  a  sudden 
change  from  mild  weather,  for  they  will  seldem  drink  the  first 
day  after  such  a  change,  even  if  water  is  offered  them  in  the 
shed. 

The  summing  up  of  the  whole  matter,  therefore,  is  this  :  It 
is  best  to  keep  sheep  in  a  yard  sheltered  by  their  shed,  with  a 
warm  southern  exposure.  Let  them  have  their  regular  time 
for  exercise  as  much  as  for  their  grain  ration  or  their  hay.  If 
snow  continues  on  the  ground  a  long  time,  so  that  they  have  no 
inducement  to  take  exercise  in  search  of  grass,  turn  them  into 
a  corn-stubble  from  which  the  fodder  has  been  hauled  out  and 
ricked.  They  will  rove  up  and  down  in  this  and  pick  a  large 
amount  of  "  thimbles  "  from  the  stubs,  no  matter  how  weather- 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTON.  179 

beaten  they  may  be,  which  they  would  not  eat  if  given  to  them 
in  the  yard.  A  sheep  is  grateful  for  the  i)rivilege  of  picking  up 
a  portion  of  his  living  in  his  own  way,  nibbling  about  in  all 
kinds  of  hidden  nooks  with  his  nimble  prehensile  lips  ;  and  even 
after  they  have  picked  the  stubs  over  twenty  times,  it  will  pay 
to  turn  them  in  again  simply  for  the  sake  of  the  exercise.  The 
great  use  of  the  system  of  yarding  is  that  it  allows  the  master 
to  regulate  the  time  and  amount  of  exercise,  and  also  secures 
more  effectual  alimentation. 

Winter  Care  of  Lambs. — From  autumn  to  winter,  from  grass 
to  hay  (which  probably  the  young  animal  has  never  seen  be- 
fore), the  transition  must  be  somewhat  shaded  off.  I  think  it 
advisable  to  remove  lambs  from  the  pasture  early  enough  (de- 
pending on  the  season)  to  leave  some  green  feed  in  the  field  for 
them  to  be  returned  to  a  few  hours  a  day  for  a  week  or  a  fort- 
night. It  is  far  better  to  take  them  up  in  this  way  than  to  wait 
until  a  snow-storm  has  covered  the  grass  beyond  reach,  for  then 
the  commencement  of  housing  will  be  so  abrupt  as  to  be  likely 
to  produce  colic  or  stretches.  Turn  them  out  in  the  morning, 
for  a  few  minutes'  airing,  and  sprinkle  in  their  racks  a  little  of 
the  greenest,  most  aromatic  hay  at  command.  I  like  it  as  gi'een 
as  English  breakfast  tea  for  lambs.  When  turned  back,  they 
will  eat  the  greater  portion  of  it  before  noon,  and  then  they 
may  be  driven  afield  for  a  few  hours. 

Many  writers  argue  that  Indian  com  is  too  heating  for  sheep, 
and  especially  for  lambs,  asserting  that  it  causes  loss  of  wool, 
"pot  disease,"  etc.  It  is  undoubtedly  too  oily  and  heating  a 
grain  to  be  given  in  unlimited  quantities  to  young  sheep  for 
months  together.  In  regard  to  com  as  a  feed  for  mature  fatten- 
ing flocks,  I  shall  have  more  to  say  elsewhere  ;  in  this  place  I 
shall  only  give  my  experience  with  lambs.  Until  about  Janu- 
ary first  I  feed  bran,  oats  and  com — two  parts  bran,  one  of  oats, 
one  of  com — all  they  will  eat.  Oats  are  a  very  unsatisfactory 
crop  on  our  river  bottoms,  and  about  the  time  above  mentioned 
we  generally  use  up  our  smaU  harvest  of  them.  I  soon  take 
out  the  bran,  also,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  season  caiTy 
the  flock  through  on  com  alone — about  three  or  four  gallons  a 
day  to  one  hundred  lambs.  I  do  this,  first,  because  corn  is  our 
one  great  staple,  and,  second,  because,  after  many  experiments, 
I  have  satisfied  myself  that  it  is  a  thoroughly  good  feed  for 
lambs.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  asserting  that  corn  is 
better  than  other  grains,  or  so  good  as  oats.  What  I  would  say 
is  that,  where  the  farmer  can  grow  corn  to  better  advantage 


180  THE   AMERICAN    MERINO 

than  oats,  and  cannot  exchange  it  conveniently,  he  can  safely 
give  it  to  lambs  in  about  the  quantities  above  indicated,  without 
fearing  any  evil  results  at  all,  if  he  will  observe  the  following 
precautions  :  Use  the  white  corn  (the  yellow  is  better  for  hogs, 
being  more  oily),  give  the  lambs  constant  access  to  salt  and  all 
they  will  drink  of  temperate  water,  and  let  them  have  two  or 
three  hours'  exercise  daily. 

Grain-Feed  at  Night. — It  is  not  a  good  practice  to  give  sheep 
grain  early  in  the  morning,  unless  they  sleep  out  of  doors  and 
have  an  opportunity  to  get  up  and  stir  around  briskly  awhile 
before  feeding.  In  a  flock  of  sheep  there  will  always  be  some 
that  resemble  certain  persons — destitute  of  appetite  in  the  morn- 
ing. If  the  grain  ration  is  given  out  then  they  will  not  come  at 
all,  or  so  listlessly  that  they  will  not  get  a  fair  proportion,  and 
they  will  lose  condition.  I  have  found  that  in  a  flock  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  lambs,  ten  or  twelve  woul:l  scarcely  touch 
grain  in  the  morning,  out  at  night  not  one  would  stand  back. 

Watering  Sheep  in  Winter. — I  can  hardly  lay  too  much 
stress  on  the  importance  of  looking  well  to  the  matter  of  water- 
ing sheep  in  winter.  ' '  You  can  lead  a  horse  to  water,  but  you 
cannot  make  him  drink."  This  adage  would  hardly  be  true  of 
the  sheep.  It  will  drink  after  awhile.  When  a  sheep  comes 
out  of  the  stable  a  trifle  chilly,  with  its  blood  stagnant  after 
twenty-four  hours,  quiet,  it  feels  touchy,  and  it  will  sniff  and 
sample  here  and  there  in  a  way  which  is  aggravating  to  the 
shepherd  who  is  waiting  on  its  motions.  It  may  be  fifteen 
minutes  before  it  can  suit  itself.  It  may  utterly  refuse  to  drink, 
whereas,  if  it  could  go  off  and  take  a  run  of  an  hour  or  so,  it 
would  return  and  drink  a  surprising  quantity.  If  that  sheep 
had  been  hastily  shut  up  by  an  impatient  shepherd,  it  would 
have  suffered  before  twenty-four  hours  elapsed,  and  would  not 
have  eaten  as  freely  as  it  ought,  and  consequently  would  have 
begun  to  lose  condition.  Hence,  the  belief  of  so  many  flock- 
masters,  tliat  sheep  "  do  not  want  water  only  about  every  other 
day."  Chilly  and  slow-blooded  as  they  are,  from  inaction,  they 
cannot  force  themselves  to  swallow  tlie  ice-cold  water  oftener 
than  that ;  but  if  it  were  temperate  they  would  gladly  drink 
every  day.  Sheep  fed  freely  on  roots  do  not  require  so  much 
water. 

Feed-Troughs. —The  old-fashioned  V-shaped  grain-troughs 
are  objectionable  because  they  allow  the  stronger  sheep  to  thrust 
the  grain  along  with  their  noses  into  heaps,  so  that  they  get 


FOR    WOOL    AND    MUTTOX.  181 


more  than  the  weaker  ones,  which  need  it  most.  All  troughs 
ought  to  be  flat-bottomed.  I  find  the  following  dimensions  very 
good  :  Sixteen  feet  lung,  six  inches  wide,  four  inches  deep. 
They  must  stand  on  blocks  or  supports  about  a  foot  high.  I 
generally  set  them  radiating  from  the  door,  like  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel,  so  that  when  the  lambs  run  out  they  do  not  have  to  leap 
over  troughs — an  operation  to  which  they  are  very  prone  at  any 
rate,  and  one  which  fouls  the  troughs  in  muddy  weather.  I 
frequently  Utter  the  yard  to  prevent  the  same  thing  from  occur- 
ring. The  troughs  may  be  set  around  the  sides  of  the  yard, 
but  this  reduces  their  capacity  nearly  one  half. 

Sorting  for  Winter. — Sheep  ought  always  to  be  divided  into 
flocks,  according  to  age,  strength,  sex,  etc.  Ewes  should  be  by 
themselves,  also  the  lambs,  then  the  dry  flocks  may  be  parcelled 
out  as  yearlings,  two-year-olds,  etc.,  though  the  weaker  ones  in 
each  lot  should  drojD  back  one  year.  A  weakish  yearling  is  as 
difficult  to  winter,  requires  as  much  care  as  a  lamb,  and  should 
be  thrown  into  the  lamb  flock.  Last  of  all  is  what  may  be  de- 
nominated the  poor-house — a  flock  consisting  of  toothless  old 
crones,  inferior  lambs,  yearhngs  and  others,  which  the  flock- 
master  had  neglected  to  dispose  of  in  the  fall,  and  he  must 
punish  himself  for  this  omission  by  nursing  and  coddling  tne 
flock  of  inferiors  more  carefully  than  the  others.  An  inferior 
sheep  iu  a  large  flock  has  a  poor  chance,  indeed.  It  ought  to 
receive  more  than  the  average  ration,  whereac  it  receives  less. 
A  sheep  is  a  timid  and  defenseless  animal  at  best,  and  when 
cowed  by  a  few  hard  knocks  from  the  masters  of  the  flock,  it 
presently  stands  back  and  goes  off  into  a  corner  to  die. 

Temporary  Shelters, — A  straw-shed,  well  built,  is  a  good 
protection  ;  but  poorly  built,  it  is  an  utter  nuisance.  In  a  long 
rain  the  water  percolates  down  through  it  and  falls  in  drops  on 
the  backs  of  the  sheep,  staining  the  fleeces  a  patchy,  clouded 
straw-color.  It  will  continue  to  drip  twenty-four  hours,  or 
longer,  after  the  rain  has  ceased,  and  here  and  there  a  sheep 
will  get  wetter  than  it  would  have  done  in  the  storm  itself.  The 
bedding  or  bottom  also  becomes  saturated,  ferments  and  gives 
off  ammonia,  poisoning  the  air,  and  the  wretched  sheep,  with 
stained  icicles  hanging  from  its  wool,  reeks  with  steam  when  it 
rises  in  the  morning  or  perhaps  tears  out  a  lock  of  wool  which 
was  frozen  to  the  ground,  while  the  baneful  ammoniacal  exha- 
lation is  laying  the  foundation  for  disease  and  a  cotted  fleece  in 
the  spring.     If  a  straw  roof  is  built  not  over  eight  or  ten  feet 


IS--^  THE    AilERICAN^    MERIXO 

wide  and  so  high  that  the  straw  will  be  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep 
above  it  when  fully  settled,  it  will  afford  passable  protection.  A 
back  or  wind-break  may  be  made  by  stacking  the  straw  partly  on 
the  ground  (though  this  is  apt  to  settle  unevenly  and  lean), 
or  by  constructing  a  barricade  of  rails  and  stakes  with  straw 
stuffed  between. 

A  temporary  shed-roof  may  be  built  of  boards,  with  a  straw 
barricade  or  bundles  of  fodder  standing  on  end  for  siding  ;  al- 
most any  shelter  which  will  exclude  the  snow  will  answer  in 
the  dry  cold  of  winter  ;  but  when  a  long  rain  conies  on,  or  the 
frost  is  coming  out  of  the  ground  in  the  spring  (the  time  of  year 
when  the  system  of  the  sheep  is  most  likely  to  break  down  un- 
der the  debilitating  approach  of  warm  weather,  and  when  it 
most  needs  a  dry  bottom  to  sleep  on  and  a  wholesome  atmos- 
f)here),  these  cheap  roofs  are  apt  to  prove  a  failure,  and  leave 
the  sheep  in  a  miserable  mud-hole.  I  speak  from  experience. 
The  sheep  had  better  sleep  on  a  diy  sodded  mound  without  a 
straw  overhead  than  to  find  themselves,  at  the  break-up  in 
March,  left  in  a  slum  of  manure  and  water.  During  the  spring 
thaws  there  are  days  when  not  even  the  sight  of  growing  grass 
would  tempt  the  well-fed  sheep,  chewing  its  cad  in  a  well-lit- 
tered house,  high  and  dry  on  an  artificial  mound,  with  an 
atmosphere  clean  and  sweet,  to  step  out  into  the  bottomless 
mud.  It  is  in  the  saving  of  sheep  in  March  that  the  shepherd 
reaps  his  reward  for  the  building  of  the  more  expensive  perma- 
nent structure. 

The  Gain  of  Housing. — It  is  one  of  the  most  prevalent  and 
persistent  errors  of  the  farmer,  that  sheep  need  housing  less 
than  any  other  domestic  animal  because  they  have  a  better 
natural  covering.  We  are  told  by  these  disbelievers  that  sheep 
wiU  stand  quietly  for  hours  in  a  rain  when  by  moving  ten  feet 
they  could  get  under  cover.  There  are  generally  two  reasons 
for  this  fact.  First :  The  house  is  so  foul  with  ammonia  (though 
the  flock-master,  whose  nostrils  are  several  feet  above  the  floor, 
may  not  perceive  it)  that  they  will  suffer  before  they  will  enter 
it.  Second  :  Unless  the  rain  is  violent,  it  takes  it  some  time  to 
penetrate  to  the  skin  of  the  animals  and  cause  them  inconveni- 
ence. An  animal  bearing  a  pelage  of  short  tliin  hairs,  though 
it  experiences  discomfort  from  tlie  falling  drops  sooner  than 
one  wliich  has  a  dense  coat,  is  really  better  prepared  to  resist 
the  hardships  of  outdoor  life  than  tlie  other,  for  the  reason  that 
the  water  dries  off  sooner.     In  large  cities  the  best  horsemen 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  1S3 

have  little  machies  for  clipping  horses ;  and  in  the  fall  when 
their  coat  has  grown  thick  and  funy,  they  shear  it  off  close  to 
the  hide.  If  a  horse  is  driven  hard  and  has  a  thick  mass  of  hair 
on  him  to  become  saturated  with  perspiration,  he  is  much  more 
likely  to  take  cold  when  put  in  tJie  stall  than  if  he  had  a  shorter 
coat,  which  would  dry  out  sooner. 

While  the  sheep  is  not  so  hardy  as  it  was  in  its  primeval  state, 
it  is  compelled,  if  allowed  to  remain  out  during  the  storms,  to 
carry  a  burden  of  wet  wool,  five  times  as  heavy  as  it  would  have 
had  to  caiTy  when  wild,  and  which  is  five  times  as  long  in  dry- 
ing out.  The  cow  or  the  horse,  though  degenerated  from  its 
ancestors  in  point  of  hardiness,  has  no  greater  coat  of  hair  to 
carry  about  wet  than  they  had.  Therefore,  I  argue,  the  sheep 
needs  shelter  more  than  any  other  of  the  domesticated  animals, 
and  that  for  the  very  reason  which  some  urge  in  excuse  of  their 
negligence  in  providing  shelter — because  it  has  a  heavier  coat  to 
carry.  A  fleece  weighing  five  pounds  will,  when  on  the  sheep's 
back,  probably  hold  ten  [)ounds  of  water  without  dripping  per- 
ceptibly. A  man  with  a  heavy  ulster  overcoat  on  might  for  the 
first  half  hour  be  almost  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  rain  ^s  as  fall- 
ing on  him  ;  but  after  he  was  wet  through  to  the  skin,  if  he  was 
obhged  to  stand  still,  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  would,  for  the 
next  twelve  hours,  rather  have  the  overcoat  off  than  on.  The 
more  a  sheep  becomes  loaded  down  with  water,  the  less  it  is  in- 
chned  to  stir  about  and  take  the  exercise  which  is  needed  to  dry 
its  coat  and  warm  its  blood.  In  our  capricious  American  cli- 
mate a  soaking  rain  is  generally  followed  soon  after  by  brisk 
winds  and  colder  temperature.  Every  tyro  in  chemistry  knows 
that  the  act  of  evaporation  withdraws  latent  heat ;  thrust  the 
wet  hand  out  of  the  window  and  it  will  grow  cold  faster  and 
freeze  much  quicker  than  it  would  if  dry. 

Cold  is  an  enemy  of  life,  and  chills  are  always  a  loss.  As 
Colonel  F.  D.  Curtis  forcibly  says  (in  a  communication  to  the 
Country  Gentleman) :  "  It  costs  blood  to  fight  chills,  and  it  takes 
food  to  make  the  blood,  which  is  the  current  of  life  and  bears 
with  it  heat,  action  and  growth."  External  chills  drive  the 
blood  in  upon  the  viscera  and  produce  congestion  in  greater  or 
less  degree,  pneumonia,  fever,  colds  in  the  head,  etc.  The 
farmer  who  suffers  his  sheep  to  get  a  wetting  every  few  days 
through  the  winter,  wonders  why  they  are  snuffling  so  much, 
with  their  nostrils  constantly  plugged  up  with  disgusting  accu- 
mulations of  dried  mucus.  He  smears  tar  over  their  noses  ;  he 
holds  them  between  his  knees,  iDulls  their  tongues  well  out  and 


184  THE   AMERICAN    MERINO 

thrusts  tar  far  back  into  their  mouths  to  make  sure  of  their 
swallowing  it ! 

What  they  need  is  not  tar  on  the  roots  of  their  tongues,  but 
tar  on  the  roof,  dry  footing  and  dry,  wholesome  atmosphere. 
They  want  plenty  of  warm  red  blood  instead  of  tar. 

Corn-Fodder  for  Sheep. — If  I  were  feeding  cattle  and  sheep, 
and  were  limited  to  clear  fodder  and  clear  timothy  hay,  I  should 
give  the  fodder  to  the  sheep  and  the  timothy  to  the  cattle.  That 
is,  if  the  fodder  had  to  be  given  out  without  cutting  ;  and  I  do 
not  beUeve  it  pays  to  cut  the  coarse  cornstalks  of  our  Western 
river  bottoms,  after  the  first  of  January,  at  any  rate. 

There  is  no  operation  about  the  farm  in  winter  which  I  per- 
form with  more  satisfaction  than  that  of  giving  fodder  to  my 
sheep.  I  have  it  in  ricks  about  seventy-five  feet  long,  disposed 
conveniently  on  two  or  three  sides  of  the  yard,  so  that  it  can  be 
throw^n  over  from  the  rick.  After  a  week  or  two  of  practice,  a 
flock  of  sheep,  even  yearlings,  will  pick  the  coarsest  fodder  very 
clean,  if  it  is  bright — cleaner  than  any  other  stock  will.  They 
consume,  not  only  the  husks,  but  the  "thimbles"  or  sheaths, 
the  tassels  and  a  foot  or  two  of  the  top  of  the  stalk,  especially 
if  the  weather  is  a  little  damp.  That  is  to  say,  they  leave  noth- 
ing which  would  really  pay  for  the  labor  of  cutting.  I  have 
known  a  snug,  tidy  farmer  winter  a  small  flock  of  sheep  entirely 
on  the  leavings  which  they  could  gather  from  the  fodder  after 
his  cattle  were  done  with  it,  supplemented  by  a  small  ration  of 
grain. 

I  confine  my  flocks  in  yards  the  greater  portion  of  the  day, 
and  in  a  few  days  the  stalks  accumulate  so  as  to  form  a  good 
feeding-bed  for  cold,  dry  weather  ;  though  I  find  it  pays  well  to 
throw  fodder,  as  well  as  hay,  into  slatted  racks,  in  the  best  of 
weather.  It  is  necessary  to  look  sharply  after  the  manner  in 
which  the  feeding  is  conducted.  The  feeder  should  be  required 
either  to  move  the  racks  every  few  days,  or,  better,  to  clean  out 
tlie  canes  which  have  been  picked  over,  every  morning  before  a 
fresh  ration  is  given.  To  enable  the  sheep  to  pick  fodder  clean, 
only  a  thin  layer  should  be  thrown  in  at  one  time,  just  about 
enough  to  fill  the  rack  up  level  with  the  bottom  board  ;  then 
they  will  not  pull  it  out  and  waste  it.  After  a  few  hom's  another 
thin  layer  may  be  given. 

When  wdieat  straw  is  given  in  conjunction  with  fodder  (and 
I  consider  a  raticm  of  bright  fodder  with  straw,  cut  before  it  is 
too  ripe,  decidedly  preferable  to  timothy  for  sheep),  the  straw 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  185 

orts  form  a  good  packing  material  for  the  canes.  The  sheep 
should  not  be  compelled  to  eat  more  than  half  the  bulk  of  straw 
giTcn  to  them  ;  the  remainder,  when  thrown  out  of  the  racks, 
is  speedily  "fulled  up"  with  the  canes  by  the  constant  tram- 
pling of  the  flock,  and  assists  greatly  in  retaining  the  liquid 
manure,  which  would  escape  if  only  the  corn-stalks  were  be- 
neath. When  the  sheep  are  turned  out  in  the  spring,  a  heavy 
coating  of  straw  is  thrown  over  the  yard  ;  this  retains  moisture, 
prevents  leaching,  and  insures  the  rotting  of  all  the  canes,  so 
that  they  can  be  hauled  out  in  the  fall. 

In  the  Atlantic  States,  where  the  stalks  are  smaller  than  on 
the  rich  bottom-lands  of  the  West,  the  best  farmers  now  gener- 
ally cut  them  into  lengths  of  an  inch  or  less,  and  often  steam 
them  and  rnix  with  mill-feed.  I  shall  have  more  to  say  of  this 
in  the  chapter  on  "  Feeding  for  Mutton." 

Cleaning  out  the  Stables. — During  the  dry,  cold  weather  of 
winter,  a  considerable  body  of  manure  may  accumulate  with- 
out detriment  ;  but  the  risk  in  this  is,  that  when  the  thaw  and 
break-up  come,  which  will  compel  the  doing  of  the  work  speed- 
ily, the  mud  is  so  deep  that  it  is  a  great  abuse,  both  to  team 
and  land,  to  haul  out  manure.  The  flocks  will  either  have  to 
swelter  and  sicken  in  the  ammonia,  or  the  team  will  have  to  be 
strained  to  do  the  work  in  half  a  foot  or  more  of  mud.  Hence, 
it  is  best  to  make  a  general  clearing  out  just  before  the  winter 
breaks  up,  while  the  ground  is  frozen  or  there  is  snow. 

The  reader  will  bear  with  my  repeated  recurrence  to  the 
necessity  of  the  shepherd's  knowing  with  absolute  certaintj^ 
whether  there  is  a  hurtful  generation  of  ammonia  going  on  or 
not.  He  should  not  allow  a  week  to  pass  at  any  time  through 
the  winter  without  making  actual  test  by  the  nostrils,  at  the 
elevation  where  the  sheep  are  obhged  to  carry  theirs,  as  to 
the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  which  they  are  compelled  to 
inhale  the  greater  part  of  their  time.  After  the  manure  has 
been  removed  it  is  well  to  sprinkle  tlie  ground  with  lime,  also 
with  several  inches  of  bedding  as  an  absorbent  of  liquid  manure 
and  to  prevent  the  manure  from  adhering  to  the  ground. 

Making  and  Saving  Manure.— I  have  my  straw  stack  placed 
every  season  as  close  as  possible  to  my  main  cluster  of  sheep 
yards,  generally  so  close  that  the  straw  can  be  pitched  directly 
from  the  stack  into  one  of  the  yards.  It  is  not  desirable  to  let 
sheep  run  to  the  stack.  The  amount  of  chaff  which  lodges  in 
their  wool  is  no  serious  objection,  for  it  is  mostly  expelled  from 


186  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

the  fleece  before  shearing  time  ;  but  sheep  will  bore  up  into  the 
stack  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  and  they  will  soon 
get  wholly  atop  of  it,  wasting  the  greater  portion. 

A  cluster  of  fodder  ricks  is  placed  on  another  side  or  other 
sides  of  the  yards  and  given  in  conjunction  with  the  straw  to 
the  dry  flocks,  for  I  wish  every  flock,  except  the  lambs,  to  re- 
ceive at  least  one  ration  of  fodder  daily.  We  make  a  practice 
of  shutting  up  our  breeding  ewes  in  the  house  every  night,  un- 
less the  weather  is  unusually  warm,  so  they  have  a  ration  of 
hay  to  lie  to.  But  I  never  wish  to  feed  fodder  or  straw  inside 
of  a  house.  In  the  first  place,  the  straw  orts  thrown  out  of  the 
racks  serve  admirably  to  pack  closer  the  loose-lying  cornstalks 
and  make  of  them  a  better  bed  for  the  retention  of  the  liquid 
manure ;  and  no  farmer  would  think  of  attempting  to  manu- 
facture cornstalks  into  manure  under  a  roof.  In  the  second 
place,  pure  sheep  manure,  deposited  in  winter  under  cover  and 
daily  trodden  firm  and  solid,  does  not  ferment ;  or,  if  the  lower 
strata  do,  the  upper  are  so  dense  that  no  ammonia  can  rise 
through  them  ;  and  the  sheep  can  and  will  sleep  on  such  a  bed, 
w^hich  is  dry  and  almost  dusty  on  the  surface,  all  winter,  with- 
out injury.  But  in  the  house  where  the  hay  orts  are  thrown 
out  and  mingle  daily  with  the  manure,  the  latter  has  to  be  re- 
moved two  or  three  times  during  the  winter  on  account  of  the 
fermentation  and  the  escaping  ammonia.  For  these  reasons 
the  dry  flocks  receive  all  their  feed  out-of-doors,  and  at  night 
are  left  at  liberty  to  sleep  in  or  out  of  the  house,  as  they  choose. 
In  the  yard  where  fodder  alone  is  given,  straw  is  occasionally 
thrown  to  compact  the  bed  against  the  wastage  of  liquid  manure. 
I  would  not  tolerate  hogs  in  a  sheep  yard,  nor  is  it  necessary. 
It  is  remarkable  how  the  constant  trampling  of  even  the  light- 
footed  sheep  will  full  together  and  press  down  a  bed  of  corn- 
stalks. They  crack  the  flinty  outer  covering  sufficiently  to 
allow  the  urine  to  penetrate  and  be  absorbed  by  the  spongy 
pith.  The  addition  of  corn  (about  a  bushel  to  the  hundred  head), 
or  of  oil-cake  meal,  or  shorts  to  the  ration,  imparts  richness  to  a 
manure  already  richer  than  anything  else  on  the  farm  except 
the  droppings  in  the  hen  house.  From  the  time  the  flocks  are 
turned  away  to  grass  until  October  or  November  these  beds  are 
left  covered  with  straw  to  rot  in  the  rain,  during  which  process 
they  will  sink  down  six  inches  or  more.  True,  there  is  a  small 
amount  leached  out  of  the  beds  by  the  rain,  particularly  toward 
fall  when  thej  begin  to  lose  their  sponginess  ;  and  a  water-tight 
manure-pit  placed  to  receive  this  drainage  would  doubtless  be  a 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTTON".  187 

good  investment.  But,  as  it  is,  from  the  yards  and  houses  to- 
gether we  secure  about  three  hundred  two-horse  wagon  loads  of 
valuable  manure  per  year,  or  somewhere  near  half  a  load  to  the 
sheep. 

The  manure  coming  from  the  houses  is  hard  and  tough  as  old 
cavendish  tobacco,  and  has  to  be  grubbed  up  with  a  mattock. 
Plowed  under  eight  or  ten  inches  deep,  this  is  a  powerful  stimu- 
lant to  corn,  which  will  show  its  effects  for  years  afterward. 
It  makes  an  excellent  top-dressing  for  weak  places  in  the 
meadows,  but  it  has  to  be  scattered  on  in  winter  and  exposed 
to  the  frosts  and  rains  two  or  tln-ee  months,  after  which  a  man 
with  a  stout  dung-fork  can  fine  it  without  much  difficulty. 

Sheep  Loslng  Wool. — There  will  often  be  noticed  a  sheep 
whose  wool  is  ragged  along  the  sides,  with  little  locks  pulled 
out  and  hanging  :  sometimes  long  seams  showing  in  the  fleece 
where  the  wool  has  wholly  parted  from  the  skin  on  the  surface 
of  wrinkles  and  fallen  otf.  In  searching  for  the  causes  of  this 
loss  of  wool,  the  shepherd  must  first  assure  himself  that  there 
are  no  sharp  edges,  points,  pins  or  nails  about  the  racks  or  sides 
of  the  stable.  Then  let  him  watch  the  ragged-looking  sheep 
and  see  if  it  is  not  addicted  to  the  vice  of  "•wool -biting."  It  is 
thought  by  many  shepherds  that  this  is  caused  by  an  eruption 
and  itching  of  the  skin,  produced  by  ammoniacal  vapors  and  the 
heat  of  feiTuentatiou  in  the  manure.  The  following  facts  may 
be  set  down  as  established,  respecting  the  habit  of  wool-biting  : — 

1.  Young  sheep  are  seldom  addicted  to  it. 

2.  Sheep  on  grass  never  pull  out  their  wool. 

3.  Sheep  fed  in  winter  on  laxative  feeds,  as  fodder,  roots, 
bran,  etc.,  are  less  inclined  to  the  habit  than  those  kept  exclu- 
sively on  hay  and  corn.  Sulphur  in  the  salt  mitigates,  to  some 
extent,  its  manifestations. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  some  sheep  which,  whether  it  is  an 
idiosyncrasy  with  them,  the  result  of  a  thin  and  sensitive  skin, 
or  a  vice,  are  so  addicted  to  wool-biting  every  winter  that  they 
ought  to  be  dismissed  from  the  farm. 

Where  wool  is  seen  to  peel  off  from  the  outer  surface  of 
wnrinkles,  it  may  be  accepted  as  evidence  of  chilling  havmg 
taken  place  in  those  wrinkles,  almost  to  the  point  of  freezing. 
Wrinkles  are  little  else  than  simple  folds  or  reduplications  of 
the  skin  ;  they  are  ill  supplied  with  the  blood  and  waiinth  of 
the  body,  and  if  upon  these  conditions  there  supervenes  a  loss 
of  condition  in  the   autumn  preceding,  caused  by  excessive 


188  THE   AMERICAI^   MERIi^O 

rains,  slushy  herbage,  or  short,  frost-bitten  grass,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  temperature  falls  so  low  in  these  remote  ex- 
tremities as  to  destroy  the  life  of  the  fibers.  These,  then,  are 
cast  off  and  leave  the  surface  exposed.  This  is  one  of  the  evils 
attending  wrinkly  sheep.  It  can  be  prevented  only  by  housing 
and  blanketing,  which,  of  course,  would  not  be  practicable  with 
a  large  flock. 

Clouded  Fleeces. — It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  if  an 
attempt  is  made  to  house  sheep  it  ought  to  be  carried  out  con- 
sistently, for  an  animal  housed  awhile  and  then  turned  into  the 
weather  will  presently  look  worse  than  the  out- door  flock.  Most 
shepherds  have  probably  noticed  sheep,  the  fleeces  of  which 
were  white  on  the  neck,  perhaps,  while  on  the  back  they  were 
yellowish,  nankeen  or  saffron,  and  pasty-looking. 

Sheep  which  are  more  or  less  deprived  of  exercise,  even  though 
their  quarters  may  be  kept  clean  and  the  sheep  themselves  in 
good  health,  are  liable  to  have  this  spotted  appearance.  It  is 
caused  by  a  lack  of  vigor  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  which 
latter  is  necessary  to  cause  the  proper  liquefaction  and  equal 
diffusion  of  the  yolky  secretion  throughout  the  fleece  and  to  the 
extremities  of  the  fibers.  If  the  flock  is  exposed  to  the  rain  at 
all,  and  the  fleeces  are  somewhat  oi)en  and  loose  they  are  apt  to 
part  along  the  back,  allowing  the  water  to  reach  the  spinal 
region  sooner  than  it  does  any  other  portion  of  the  frame.  The 
wool  fibers  on  the  back  are  perpendicular  and  tend  to  conduct 
the  moisture  inward  to  the  skin,  while  on  the  rest  of  the  body 
they  are  more  or  less  sloping  and  convey  it  away. 

Necessity  for  Grain. — Some  excellent  flock-masters  keep 
their  sheep,  even  their  breeding  ewes,  all  winter  without  grain. 
Others,  equally  as  good,  do  not  begin  to  give  grain  until  Febru- 
ary or  March.  Unless  the  hay  is  exceptionally  bright  and  fine, 
it  is  better  to  give  a  little  grain  all  winter,  though  less  is  required 
in  midwinter  than  at  the  breaking-up,  when  the  sheep's  appe- 
tite is  rendered  capricious  by  the  increasing  warmth.  A  little 
grain  throughout  the  winter  gives  the  sheep  heart  and  thrift ; 
it  will  consume  its  rough  feed  with  less  waste.  A  sheep  that 
has  fallen  off  through  the  winter,  and  is  suddenly  put  on  a  ration 
of  corn  in  March,  is  liable  to  lose  its  fleece,  or  a  part  of  it.  With 
the  sheep,  above  all  other  domestic  animals,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  farmer  should  bear  a  steady  hand  all  the  year  round. 

Snow-Eaters. — There  will  nearly  always  be  some  few  sheep, 
especially  in  a  flock  of  lambs,  that  have  a  depraved  appetite  for 


FOR  .WOOL   AXD   ITUTTOif .  ]  89 

snow,  and  will  not  drink  water  if  snow  is  obtainable.  It  is  a 
habit  as  harmful  to  the  victim  of  it  as  that  of  '"  wind-sucking  " 
in  a  horse.  I  have  thought,  sometimes,  that  lambs  acquii*ed  it 
from  their  dread  of  touching  water  which,  was  ice-cold,  when 
they  were  doubled  up  and  shivering  with  cold  themselves. 
With  some  sheep  it  becomes  a  confirmed  habit,  continued  from 
year  to  year,  and  the  observing  flock-master  will  notice  that  the 
snow-eaters  are  the  poorest  of  the  flock.  The  remedy  is  obvi- 
ous :  Provide  an  abundance  of  temperate  water  and  allow  am- 
ple time  for  every  sheep  to  drink,  warming  them  up  beforehand 
with  exercise,  if  necessary  ;  and  either  keep  them  out  of  the 
snow  or  drive  them  over  it  until  it  is  all  trodden  down  and 
dirty. 


CH  A  PTEE    XIX. 
FEEDING    FOR    MUTTON. 

Meresto  Muttox. — We  are  indebted  to  our  mother-country, 
England,  for  a  great  many  moss-grown  ideas  and  prepossessions, 
and  not  the  least  among  these  is  the  belief  that  the  coarser  and 
lighter  the  fleece  on  the  sheep  the  better  the  mutton — this,  of 
course,  within  reasonable  limits.  This  belief  has  made  a  lodg- 
ment in  our  great  Eastern  cities,  and  from  them  it  is  passed  on, 
at  second  or  thud  hand,  to  our  wool-growers  in  the  West.  The 
Merino  has  never  been  fairly  tested  by  the  mutton-eaters  of  the 
world,  because  it  is,  in  its  paramount  function,  a  wool-bearing 
animal,  and  is  not  usually  slaughtered  for  mutton  until,  it  has 
passed  its  prime.  The  only  fair  test  would  be  one  instituted 
between  a  Merino  lamb  and  a  Southdown  lamb. 

For  all-winter  feeding.  Merinos  are  best ;  and  wethers  better 
than  ewes,  as  there  is  a  lai'ge  discount  on  the  latter.  For  an 
early  winter  market,  probably  heavy  coarse-wooled  sheep  are 
preferable.  Tlie  superiority  of  the  fine-wools  as  feeding  sheep 
in  general,  consists  in  this,  that  if  the  market  for  mutton  is  not 
brisk  during  the  winter  and  spring  they  can  be  carried  over, 
shorn  early  and  sold  as  clipped  sheep,  bringing  almost  as  much, 
shorn,  as  they  would  have  commanded  in  the  winter,  wool  and 
aU. 

Merinos  as  Feeding  Sheep.— In  the  letter  referred  to  below, 


190  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

Mr.  Isaac  H.  Frank,  of  Lake,  Stark  County,  Ohio,  who  feeds 
several  hundred  sheep  every  winter,  says  :  "In  the  first  place, 
what  kind  of  sheep  are  most  profitable  for  fattening ?  Certainly 
those  which  bring  the  highest  price  in  the  New  York  market. 
Lambs  sell  always  for  more  than  sheep,  and  prime  wethers  sell 
better  then  ewes.  Blood  don't  make  much  difference  if  the  ani- 
mal is  good  size,  fat,  smooth,  desirable  wool  and  trim,  but  the 
Southdown  stands  at  the  head." 

I  have  italicized  the  words  bearing  particularly  on  the  subject 
of  breed. 

Next,  I  will  present  an  extract  from  the  "  Report  of  the  Onta- 
rio (Canada)  i^ gricultural  College,"  on  a  series  of  feeding  experi- 
ments conducted  during  the  years  1882-3  :  "  There  is  a  remark- 
able uniformity  in  the  annual  value  of  wool  and  mutton  from 
the  grades  of  Cots  wold,  Leicester,  Merino,  Oxforddown  and 
Southdown,  resulting  from  differences  in  weight  and  value  of 
both  products." 

In  a  conversation  I  had,  in  August,  1884,  with  Mr.  W.  M. 
Conner,  yard-master  for  seven  years  of  the  sheep  department  of 
the  Union  Stock  Yards  of  Cincinnati,  I  asked  him  :  "  What  is 
the  best  mutton-sheep  brought  to  Cincinnati  ?  "  To  this  he  re- 
plied :  "  The  Southdown."  In  reply  to  the  question  as  to  what 
held  the  second  rank,  he  said  :  *'  The  Merino."  He  continued  : 
"I  mean  mature  mutton.  For  early  lambs,  of  course,  the 
Merino  ranks  below  the  Down  and  the  Cotswold.  This  is  not 
because  the  mutton  is  inferior  in  itself  ;  Merino  mutton,  when 
equally  fat,  is  as  good  as  any  in  the  world — indeed,  I  am  not 
certain  but  it  is  finer-grained  than  any  other — but  the  point  is 
to  get  your  mutton  fat." 

"You- never  have  Merino  lambs  brought  to  market,  I  pre- 
sume ?  "• 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  have,  sometimes  ;  not  often.  They  sell  a  little 
under  the  coarse-wool  lambs — not,  as  I  said  before,  because  the 
mutton  is  inferior,  but  because  the  pelt  is  smaller  and  the 
butcher  does  not  realize  as  much  from  the  wool." 

"Then  1  am  to  understand  you  as  meaning  that  the  main 
point  of  the  English  breeds  is  their  precocity  ;  that  is,  they  put 
so  much  more  flesh  and  fat  on  the  carcass,  and  wool  on  the  pelt, 
at  an  extreme  early  age  ?       Is  that  it  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  point.  They  do  their  best  work  the  first  year  of 
their  lives." 

"  But  for  mature  mutton  you  admit  that  the  Merino  is  equal 
to  them  ?  " 


FOR    WOOL    A^D    MUTTOT^.  191 

"Not  equal  to  the  Southdown,  but  better  than  anything  else, 
as  1  said  before." 

"  What  do  you  find  to  be  the  best  feeding  sheep  ?  " 
"  There  is  nothing  better  than  a  bunch  of  nice  Merino  wethers 
for  winter  feeding.  They  herd  better,  in  larger  flocks  ;  they 
hold  fat  better  in  the  spring.  If  it  were  not  for  the  Ohio  Meri- 
nos we  would  have  no  mutton  at  all  in  the  spring  in  Cincinnati. 
They  come  on  in  the  nick  of  time  all  along  in  late  winter  and 
early  spring,  before  the  Kentucky  early  lambs  begin  to  come  to 
market." 

Mr.  W.  D.  Crout,  of  Wauseon,  Fulton  County,  Ohio,  who 
feeds  for  market  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  sheep  every  year, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Ohio  Farmer,  says  of  Merinos  ;  "I  feed  dif- 
ferent classes  of  sheep  almost  every  winter,  and  find  that  no 
other  kind  take  to  feed  so  kindly  and  fatten  so  rapidly,  and 
have  habits  of  quietude  equal  to  them.  Neither  can  I  ob- 
tain so  ready  a  market  the  last  half  of  the  winter,  or  any  time 
much  past  the  holidays.  If  I  have  long-wooled  sheep  to  feed,  I 
invariably  turn  them  off  early  in  the  winter,  but  I  beheve  I 
have  never  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape  having  some  culls 
from  coarse  sheep.  Do  not  understand  me  that  Merinos  are 
entirely  free  from  this,  but  I  do  claim  that  they  are  less  liable." 

In  conversations  with  me  on  this  subject,  Messrs.  Miles  Stacy, 
Jacob  Dearth  and  Elvin  Miller,  all  of  Washington  County,  Ohio, 
and  all  of  them  experienced  feeders,  have  repeatedly  stated  that 
for  the  Baltimore  market,  for  winter  corn-fed  mutton,  they  pre- 
fer good  straight  Merino  grade  wethers  to  those  of  any  other 
breed. 

The  views  of  some  of  the  above  quoted  witnesses  may  be  con- 
sidered sUghtly  open  to  criticism  as  being  influenced  by  local 
fashions  and  predilections  ;  but  the  testimony  of  the  Canada 
Agricultural  College  and  the  Cincinnati  yard-master  is  entitled 
to  be  accepted  as  entirely  impartial. 

When  to  Feed. — An  all-winter  cramming  on  grain  is  unprof- 
itable with  any  kind  of  stock,  especially  with  sheep.  Equally 
true  is  it  that  to  aUow  any  fattening  animal  (or  store  animal 
either,  for  that  matter),  to  get  on  the  down  grade  for  a  single 
day  is  a  double  loss.  I  have  had  some  experience  in  feeding 
Merino  wethers  for  the  shambles,  and  I  find  that  the  most  prof- 
itable method  to  pursue  is,  when  practicable,  to  keep  the  flock 
running  on  a  stiff  old  sod  or  meadow  rowen  (when  on  rich 
river  bottoms),  until  well  along  in  February,  making,  of  course, 


192  THE   AMERICA?^   MERIXO 

proper  provision  of  housing  in  inclement  "weather,  with  enough, 
grain — say,  a  bushel  of  shelled  com  per  hundred  a  day — to 
make  up  for  any  deficiency  in  the  frozen  grass,  and  keep  the 
flock  gaining  a  little.  This  plan  of  preparation  operates  very 
much  on  the  same  principle  that  a  clover  field  does  on  a  bunch 
of  hogs  through  the  summer,  keeping  them  loose  in  the  bowels, 
growing  in  flesh  and  fitting  them  for  the  six  weeks  or  two 
months  cramming  with  grain  in  autumn. 

Most  farmers  who  cany,  through  the  winter,  a  bunch  of  feed- 
ing sheep,  do  so  with  the  expectation  of  selling  the  wool 
before  grass  comes.  Hence,  I  have  found  that  there  is  an  inter- 
val between  the  strictly  grain  fed  and  the  purely  grass  fattened 
flocks,  coming  in  the  month  of  April  or  May,  when  sheep  will 
generally  sell  to  best  advantage.  The  wool  market  has  been 
opened  by  that  time,  and  yet  has  not  been  subjected  to  the 
*'bear"  influences  of  the  regular  spring  clip  coming  later. 
Local  manufactui'ers  are  about  that  time  beginning  to  look 
about  briskly  for  small  stocks  to  start  on,  not  having  the  capital 
to  hold  over  a  supply  of  wool  through  the  winter,  and  not  wish- 
ing to  wait  for  the  regular  clip.  There  is  also  about  this  time  a 
sort  of  interregnum  in  the  beef  market. 

Manner  and  Material. — As  to  the  manner  of  feeding  and 
the  material  given,  there  are  three  points  of  great  importance. 

1.  Sheep  should  be  fed  with  the  utmost  regularity. 

2.  Though  fond  of  variety,  and  requiring  it  for  an  attainment 
of  the  best  results,  feeding  sheep  resent  a  sudden  change  to  an 
unaccustomed  feed  stuff. 

3.  Hence,  combination  of  feeds  is  better  than  change. 

Supposing  the  flock  to  have  been  on  the  range  until  the  1st  or 
15th  of  February,  on  a  ration  of  a  bushel  of  shelled  com  per 
day,  we  would  now  yard  them,  and  set  about  conducting  them 
up  to  the  regimen  on  which  they  are  to  finish  off  the  fattening 
process.  If  accustomed  to  it,  they  may  be  put  on  com  fodder 
once  a  day  for  a  month  with  great  advantage,  but  after  the 
middle  of  March,  fodder  begins  to  be  distasteful,  and  is  not  so 
well  relished  by  any  stock.  I  give  one  liundred  mature  sheep 
twelve  to  eighteen  bundles  of  fodder  during  the  forenoon,  gen- 
erally in  two  feeds  in  slatted  racks.  A  sprinkle  of  bright  wheat 
straw  or  chaff  may  be  given  at  noon  ;  at  night,  all  they  will  eat 
clean  during  the  niglit  of  clover  hay,  Hungarian,  June  grass  or 
Timothy  (I  name  them  here  in  the  order  of  my  preference). 

If  it  has  not  been  found  convenient  to  let  them  run  on  the 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTO^T.  193 

range,  the  best  substitute  for  it  will  be  fodder  and  straw,  or 
clover  hay  and  straw  ;  though  it  is  well  to  reserve  enough  clover 
to  give,  toward  the  end  of  the  yarding  season,  in  conjunction 
with  the  heavy  grain  feed,  as  the  best  coarse,  cooling  distender 
for  the  heated  stomach. 

A  good  grain  feed  for  fattening  sheep  is  shelled  corn,  one- 
half  ;  barley  or  rye,  one-quarter  ;  oats,  one-quarter  ;  but  to  the 
majority  of  farmers  perhaps  com  is  the  most  available  feed, 
I  do  not  think,  after  many  trials,  that  it  is  profitable  to  crush 
grain  of  any  kind  for  sheep,  much  less  the  cob  with  the  corn; 
the  cob  being,  in  my  opinion,  not  only  useless  as  a  feed,  but  a 
positive  damage. 

It  is  wasteful  to  throw  out  corn  unhusked,  as  some  Western 
feeders  are  accustomed  to  do.  There  is  too  much  of  the  grain 
to  the  amount  of  leaves,  and,  besides  that,  I  never  succeeded  in 
feeding  unhusked  corn  to  sheep  in  any  way  in  which  they 
would  not,  before  they  managed  to  get  the  com  stripped  and 
shelled,  waste  a  good  deal  of  the  foliage.  Some  sheep  are  a 
great  deal  more  expert  and  vigorous  than  others  in  husking  and 
shelhng  the  ears  and  get  more  than  their  share.  In  short, 
there  is  every  reason  for  husking  corn  before  it  is  given  to  sheep, 
and  none  (of  any  considerable  value),  in  favor  of  giving  it  out 
unhusked. 

As  to  oil-cake  meal,  or  cotton-seed,  most  sheep  are  not  accus- 
tomed to  either  before  they  are  penned  up  to  fatten,  and  they 
must  be  broken  to  them  with  caution.  Sheep  are  fond  of  va- 
riety, but  they  want  that  variety  to  consist  of  articles  to  which 
they  are  accustomed.  If  the  flock-master's  sheep  are  used  to 
oil  meal,  by  all  means  let  him  give  them  some,  perhaps  a  daily 
ration  of  it,  during  the  fattening  process.  But  if  not,  he  must 
proceed  with  caution  in  breaking  them  to  it.  Let  it  be  given 
in  very  small  quantities  at  first,  not  over  a  tablespoonful  per 
head,  mixed  with  four  or  five  times  its  bulk  of  wheat  bran  or 
some  other  coarse  ground  feed  to  which  they  are  accustomed  ; 
and  then  let  the  proportion  of  oil  meal  be  increased  until  it 
forms  one-half,  three-fourths,  or  even  the  entire  feed,  if  they 
are  found  to  rehsh  the  article,  which  they  undoubtedly  will. 
But  the  limit  with  this  rich  feed  stuff  is  easily  reached  ;  it  wiU 
not  do  to  go  beyond  a  few  ounces  per  head,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  sheep. 

If  shelled  com  alone  is  given,  it  can  be  so  dispensed  as  not 
to  injure  the  sheep  at  all,  though  it  requires  great  watchfulness 
and  good  judgment  to  give  fattening  sheep  all  the  corn  they 


194  THE   AMERICAN    MERIis^O 

will  eat  without  doing  them  serious  mischief.  If,  by  a  trifling 
negligence  on  the  part  of  the  feeder,  they  get  a  little  "  off  their 
feed,"  one  or  more  of  them  will  vomit  up  com  about  the  shed. 

From  the  time  the  flock  is  put  into  the  yard  to  begin  the 
fattening  process,  it  should  be  nearly  or  quite  a  month  before 
the  ration  of  shelled  corn  is  increased  up  to  their  full  capacity 
to  consume.  An  increase  of  two  quarts  a  day  will  cany  the 
feed  in  that  time  from  one  bushel  up  to  three  per  day ;  and 
that  is  about  as  much  as  one  hundred  Merino  wethers  can  be 
induced  to  eat,  with  an  abundance  of  clover  hay.  It  is  best  to  ' 
divide  this  amount  into  three  feeds,  and  every  feed  should  be 
given  under  the  eye  of  the  master  himself.  If,  on  account  of 
warm,  muggy  weather  or  other  reason,  the  most  of  the  sheep 
run  away  from  the  grain-troughs  before  the  com  is  all  eaten  up, 
the  remainder  ought  to  be  at  once  chased  out  of  the  yard  and 
the  residue  of  corn  removed,  else  a  few  will  linger  and  eat  too 
much. 

The  yard  ought  to  be  kept  well  littered  ;  the  heated  condition 
of  the  sheep  and  the  strong  manure  getting  into  the  clefts  of 
their  feet  induce  "scald-foot."  Once  a  week  all  Umping  ones 
should  be  caught,  their  feet  examined,  pared  clean,  and  a  little 
finely  powdered  blue  vitriol  sprinkled  in  the  cleft.  Of  course, 
the  judicious  flock-master  will  supply  plenty  of  water  ;  and 
constant  access  to  salt,  in  which  one-tenth  or  one-twelfth  of 
copperas  has  been  mixed,  is  beneficial. 

As  soon  as  the  grass  is  sufiiciently  grown  to  carry  stock — 
from  April  5th  to  12th,  according  to  latitude — the  flock  may  be 
turned  on  it,  after  being  tagged,  and  the  grain  ration  reduced 
to  a  bushel  per  day.  But  they  ought  still  to  be  yarded  every 
night,  and  a  little  very  tempting  hay  sprinkled  in  the  racks  and 
brined  (all  other  salt  being  withheld).  If  they  are  not,  by  this 
means,  or  some  other,  induced  to  eat  a  little  hay,  the  grass 
makes  their  teeth  sore,  and  they  will  not  eat  the  grain  as  they 
should. 

Methods  of  a  Noted  Feeder. — Mr.  J.  H.  Frank,  already 
mentioned,  feeds  for  market  from  five  hundred  to  one  thou- 
sand sheep  yearly.  His  barn  (fig.  22)  is  one  hundred  and  forty  by 
forty-five  feet  without  the  wing — has  no  floor  except  the  tamped 
clay  ;  the  sides  consist  mostly  of  doors,  so  that  it  can  be  en- 
tered with  teams  at  any  place,  for  the  storing  of  grain  or  hay, 
or  the  removal  of  manure.  It  is  used  in  summer  as  a  barrack 
for  grain ;  this  being  threshed  out  early  in  the  fall,  leaves  the 


FOE   WOOL   AISD   MUTTON- 


195 


space  ready  for  the  sheep  when  winter  approaches.  I  copy 
(and  partly  condense)  Mr.  Frank's  account  in  the  Ohio  Farmer  : 
"  The  pens  are  formed  by  the  racks  and  a  double  line  of  fence 
(the  latter  making  the  feeding  aisle) ;  all  these  are  removed  in 
the  spring  when  the  manure  is  hauled  out.  They  are  stored  in 
shelter  during  the  summer  until  after  threshing,  when  they  are 
replaced  ready  for  sheep.  At  the  south  end  of  the  barn  on 
either  side  of  the  aisle  we  place  half -racks,  D,  D,  figure  23, 
and  ten  feet  farther  up,  a  rack,  B,  fifteen  feet  long,  with  one 
end  against  the  fence  at  the  aisle,  which  leaves  a  passage  for 
the  sheep  to  pass  over  to  the  other  side.  Then  ten  feet  farther 
up  we  j)lace  another  rack,  B,  which  extends  from  the  side  of 
the  bam  to  the  tank,  making  a  pen  twenty  feet  square.  Then 
on  each  side  of  the  aisle  the  same  arrangement  of  racks  is  con- 
tinued until  we  have  the  barn  partitioned  off  into  eight  pens — 
four  on  each  side.    At  the  north  end  of  the  barn  we  put  our 


Fig.  22.— MR.  feaitk's  sheep  baen. 


hay,  and  as  fast  as  it  is  fed  we  fill  up  the  space  with  pens,  so 
that  by  spring  we  have  more  pens.  An  empty  space  is  left, 
however,  between  the  hay  and  pens  for  throwing  down  hay, 
driving  in  sheep,  etc.  The  racks  are  so .  made,  that  they  are 
used  both  for  feeding  hay  and  grain,  as  shown  in  figure  24. 
H,  shows  trough  for  feeding  grain,  and  K  the  hay-rack.  It 
can  be  closed,  as  shown  in  figure  25,  for  sweeping  and  putting 
in  grain,  as  the  wings  keep  the  sheep  away  until  the  grain  is 
evenly  scattered  in  the  trough,  when  the  wings  are  turned  and 
all  the  sheep  come  up  at  once.  These  are  by  far  the  most  con- 
venien;/  sheep  racks  that  have  come  under  our  notice,  and  I 
doubt  whether  there  is  another  rack  near  its  equal  for  cleanli- 
ness, convenience  and  saving  of  both  hay  and  grain. 

"  Now  we  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  indicating  that  it 
requires  a  barn  and  racks  just  like  ours  to  make  a  success  of 
feeding,  but  we  think  ours  are  excellent,  and  if  the  genius  o^ 


196 


THE   AMEEICAX   MERIXO 


the  feeder  can  find  a  better  way  or  method,  we  would  be 
pleased  enough  to  follow  his  plan. 

"  We  take  it  is  an  undisputable  fact  that  whatever  adds  to  the 
comfort  of  the  sheep,  will  add  to  the  profit  of  the  feeder.  The 
sheep  must  be  kept  quiet.  No  dogs,  cattle  or  boys  should  be 
allowed  to  chase  or  worry  them,  so  that  they  can  eat  and  he 


T 


1 1 1 1  rri 

TT   ^o  i      I     IT   1. 


FEEDING 


Arsi  E 


U 


01 


Fig.  23. — GROUND  PLAJSr  OF  MR.   FRANK'S  BARN. 

down  unmolested  until  they  again  wish  to  eat  or  drink.  Pure 
air  is  one  of  the  essentials.  A  stable  full  of  foul  odors,  damp 
and  dirty,  cannot  be  a  place  suitable  for  keeping  an  animal  as 
cleanly  as  is  the  sheep.  We  secure  fresh  air  by  opening  any  or 
all  of  the  double  doors,  A,  A,  in  figirre  23. 

"  Figure  24  represents  the  bay-rack  and  feed-trough  combined, 
with  the  wings,  W,  W,  turned  in  and  buttoned  fast,  giving  the 
sheep  access  to  the  feed-trough,  which  runs  along  at  the  bottom 
of  each  wing.  There  is  a  raised  board  walk  along  the  middle, 
between  the  troughs,  on  which  the  feeder  walks  while  pouring 


^ 


>v 


vr 


/ 


7 


d — D — 0 — n — 0 

Fig.  34.— FEED-RACK,   OPEN. 

grain  into  the  troughs.  While  the  wings  are  turned  in  this  way, 
they  also  constitute  the  sloping  sides  of  the  hay-rack,  from  which 
the  sheep  pull  out  the  hay  through  a  four-inch  crack  at  the  bot- 
tom. Figure  25  shows  the  wings  turned  perpendicularly  and 
fastened,  excluding  the  sheep  from  the  troughs  wliile  the  grain 
is  being  poured  in.    Under  no  circumstances  must  the  sheep  get 


FOR  WOOL  AND   MUTTO^q". 


197 


wet,  for  the  wool  requires  a  long  time  for  drying,  and  makes 
the  animal  cold  and  uncomfortable.  Too  much  can  not  be 
said  about  cleanliness.  Good  bedding  must  be  secured,  and  re- 
moved whenever  the  sheep  have  no  clean,  nice  and  dry  place  in 
which  to  lie  down.  The  racks  and  troughs  should  always  be 
swept  perfectly  clean  before  either  hay  or  grain  is  put  in  them. 
Do  this  always.  Another  requisite  is  pure  water.  The  water 
tank  is  liable  to  be  fouled  by  droppings  or  particles  of  feed  fall- 
ing into  the  water.  The  tanks  should  be  emptied  often  and 
rinsed  out,  so  that  the  water  is  clear,  sweet  and  clean, 

"The  water  must  be  convenient  so  that  the  sheej)  need  not  go 
any  distance  to  secure  it.  They  will  eat  a  few  mouthfuls,  then 
drink  a  little,  go  and  eat,  and  so  on  until  they  are  satisfied, 
when  they  lie  down  and  chew  their  cuds.  If  the  sheep  must 
go  into  the  storm  or  into  mud  or  wet,  or  a  little  distance,  they 
often  do  without  water  rather  than  go  and  get  it.  The  water 
should  be  kept  so  warm  that  it  does  not  freeze,  as  they  will  not 


W 


w 


~11 — I — 

Fig.  35.— FEED  RACK,   CLOSED, 

drink  enough  to  make  them  thrive  well  if  too  cold,  and  besides, 
it  requires  feed  to  warm  the  ice  water.  I  have  often  seen  lots  of 
sheep  wliicli  were  well  taken  care  of  in  all  respects,  but  failed 
to  do  well  because  they  were  not  well  supplied  with  pure  water. 
"  For  the  best  results,  sheep  should  not  be  kept  in  large  lots, 
and  those  of  a  size  should  be  kept  together,  as  the  smaller  ones 
are  crowded  back  by  the  larger  ones,  and  knocked  about  so  that 
they  do  not  thrive  as  well.  Hence,  the  small  pens,  twenty  by 
twenty  feet,  as  shown  in  figure  23.  If  I  wished  to  do  the  very 
best  with  a  sheep,  I  think  I  would  put  it  into  a  stall  by  itself, 
as  we  feed  cattle  and  horses.  The  nearer  we  approach  this  the 
better,  and  it  would  be  more  profitable  to  put  sheep  into  smaller 
pens  than  ours,  if  convenient.  Ours  hold  from  forty-five  to 
fifty-five,  according  to  size,  with  comfort.  Care  must  be  taken 
not  to  crowd  them  too  much.  Our  sheep  never  leave  the  pens 
save  when  carried  to  market,  and  we  find  they  do  much  better 
than  if  they  have  the  range  of  a  bani-yard,  or  even  a  special  yai'd 


198  THE   AMERICAN  3IERII^0 

made  for  them.  We  feed  a  variety  of  grains,  and  mix  them. 
Corn  ground  in  the  ear,  oats,  sometimes  wheat  screenings,  and 
always  middlings  and  bran.  We  have  fed  some  linseed  meal ; 
thtnk  it  very  good,  but  have  not  tested  it  so  as  to  »peak  authori- 
tatively on  the  matter.  We  grind  our  corn  because  it  is  easier 
digested,  and  it  requires  longer  time  for  the  sheep  to  eat  it,  and 
each  has  a  better  chance  to  get  its  share  of  the  meal.  Bran  is 
of  prime  importance,  we  find."  Mr.  Frank  gives  the  following 
as  his  rule  for  regulating  the  quantity  of  feed :  "  Begin  in  the 
fall  with  a  small  amount  ;  increase  gradually  until  the  amount 
is  reached  which  they  eat  up  clean,  and  no  more.  They  will 
eat  a  little  more  in  cold  than  in  warm  weather. 

"  We  feed  clover  hay  exclusively,  and  find  it  far  superior  to 
any  other.  If  timothy  hay  must  be  fed,  let  it  be  to  the  old 
sheep,  for  lambs  will  not  do  well  on  it.  We  feed  all  the  hay 
that  they  will  eat  without  wasting.  Flocks  are  often  fed  so 
much  that  they  waste  enough  to  bed  them,  which  is  no  advan- 
tage to  the  sheep,  but  wasteful  and  extravagant.  Cut  the  clover 
before  it  is  very  ripe,  as  it  is  belter  relished  and  has  more  nutri- 
ment in  it.  We  often  cut  clover  on  our  wheat  stubbles,  and 
find  that  sheep  hke  it  better  than  any  other. 

"  Regularity  in  feeding  is  very  necessary.  Sheep  should  be 
fed  grain  and  hay  twice  each  day,  and  at  the  same  hour  as 
nearly  as  possible.  Salt  is  kept  in  a  box  in  each  pen,  so  that  the 
sheep  can  get  it  whenever  they  want  it.     Now  to  recapitulate  : 

"  1st.  Select  lambs  or  good  wethers. 

"  2d.  Confine  in  close  quarters  and  small  lots. 

*'  3d.  Cleanliness. 

*'  4th.  Keep  sheep  quiet. 

"5th.  Pure  air. 

"  6th.  Good  shelter. 

"  7th.  Pure  water  near  at  hand. 

"  8th.  Variety  of  ground  grains,  with  bran  and  salt. 

"9th.  Clover  hay. 

"  10th.  Regularity  of  feeding." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  Mr.  Frank's  system  con- 
templates an  all-winter  cramming  on  grain,  and  a  rigid  confine- 
ment of  the  flock  to  the  pens  throughout.  My  experience  has 
been  had  on  river  bottoms  ;  and  on  these  the  rich  rowen  of  low- 
meadows  will,  in  an  open  winter,  carry  a  flock  of  fat  wethers 
far  into  the  winter,  with  no  more  corn  than  above  mentioned. 
But  where  the  feeder  has  an  abundance  of  clover  hay,  roots  or 
corn-fodder,  as  a  coohng  laxative  diet  and  a  corrective  to  the 


FOR   WOOL  AN-D   MUTTOK.  199 

grain,  the  feeding  term  may  extend  through  the  whole  winter 
with  profit,  and  the  sheep  may  be  closely  housed. 

Importance  of  Quiet. — Mr.  Frank's  remarks  on  this  subject 
are  just  and  deserving  of  special  attention.  All  dogs  should  be 
kept  out  of  sight  and  heai'ing.  Not  even  shepherd  dogs  should 
be  allowed  about  the  pens  where  sheep  are  fattening.  No  sheep, 
unless  minghng  familiarly  with  a  dog  every  day  of  their  lives, 
will  become  so  accustomed  to  him  as  not  to  be  disturbed  by  his 
approach.  The  greater  the  quiet,  the  more  rapid  will  be  the  gain 
in  flesh.  To  this  end  there  should  not  even  be  a  change  in  pens 
or  troughs  or  the  feeders  during  the  winter.  The  same  person 
should  take  care  of  them  in  the  same  place  throughout. 

Variety  of  Feed. — Many  good  feeders,  including  the  cele- 
brated John  Johnston,  give  sheep  no  other  rough  feed  than  straw 
for  considerable  periods  of  time.  I  have  myself  done  so  through 
the  whole  period  of  feeding,  except  the  last  six  weeks  or  such  a 
matter.  For  a  feeder  who  buys  all  his  material  this  would  not 
be  advisable  (though  it  would  be  good  policy  to  invest  a  small 
amount  of  money  in  green,  bright  straw,  oat  or  wheat,  rather 
than  to  purchase  hay  exclusively)  ;  but  it  might  be  profitable 
for  a  farmer  who  has  a  large  amount  of  straw  on  hand,  and  who 
also  wishes  to  manufacture  manure  on  a  large  scale,  to  give  it 
to  fattening  sheep,  early  in  the  winter,  very  liberally.  Sheep 
fed  very  highly  on  grain  will  consume  with  relish  the  coarse 
stuff,  which  a  flock  subsisting  almost  entirely  on  hay  would  re- 
ject. Hay  mixed  with  bitter  weeds  or  other  trash  may  be  given 
in  occasional  feeds  to  fattening  sheep  with  evident  advantage. 

In  warm,  muggy  weather,  if  the  flock  are  rather  mincing 
over  their  corn  or  corn-meal,  it  is  well  to  mix  a  portion  of  oats 
with  it,  or  give  oats  exclusively  for  a  few  days. 

Timothy  is  too  bmding  for  an  animal  whose  system  tends  so 
easily  to  fever  and  constipation  as  does  that  of  the  sheep.  Al- 
most any  kind  of  straw,  except  buckwheat  (which  is  apt  to 
poison  the  lips),  is  better  as  a  coarse  feed  for  fattening  sheep 
than  clear  timothy.  In  fact,  there  is  no  kind  of  hay,  except 
clover,  which  is  as  good,  unmixed,  as  the  same  would  be  with 
a  judicious  alternation  with  straw. 

Cleanliness.^— No  other  domestic  animal  is  so  easily  disgusted 
with  its  feed  by  mustiness,  dirt,  foul  odors,  etc. ,  as  is  the  sheep. 
The  breath  of  the  animal  itself  soon  renders  its  feed  distasteful 
to  it,  and  for  this  reason  it  might  not  inaptly  be  set  down  as  a 
maxim  that  no  feed  should  be  placed  before  it  which  it  will  not 


200  THE   AMERICAK^   MERIXO 

consume  within  an  hour.  The  least  taint  in  the  water-trough 
is  offensive  to  this  most  cleanly  and  fastidious  animal ;  it  will 
go  hours  without  water,  to  the  point  of  actual  suffering,  rather 
than  drink  that  which  is  polluted.  Hence,  the  troughs  and  ves- 
sels must  be  kept  clean,  and  the  sheep  which  are  observed  to  be 
dainty  must  have  a  fair  allowance  of  time  to  find  such  place  in 
the  water-trough  as  shall  suit  their  capricious  appetites. 

A  Device  to  Keep  Troughs  Clean.— It  is  often  urged  as  a 
sufficient  argument  against  feed-troughs  inside  the  stable,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  have  them  in  order  without  cleaning  them  out 
at  every  feeding-time.  To  obviate  this  troublesome  task,  the 
feeder  may  set  the  troughs  around  the  sides  of  the  building, 
from  four  to  six  inches  too  high  for  sheep  to  reach  them  ;  then 
put  under  them  a  piece  of  timber,  or  a  bench,  upon  which  they 
can  step  with  their  forefeet,  but  too  narrow  for  them  to  stand 
on  with  all  fours.     This  will  keep  all  dung  out  of  the  troughs. 


CHAPTEE    XX. 
FEOM    HAY    TO    GRASS. 

I  have  before  made  some  remarks  on  the  importance  of  turn- 
ing the  sheep  afield  frequently  during  the  winter,  at  least  when 
the  ground  is  bare.  But  as  soon  as  the  grass  begins  to  grow, 
even  a  little,  upon  the  approach  of  spring,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  exercise  caution.  The  old  grass  which  they  get  during  the 
winter,  the  long  tufts  of  rowen  mixed  about  equally  with  dead 
grass  and  lurking  under  bushes  or  briers  on  some  north  hillside, 
which  the  sheep  neglected  during  the  summer,  has  a  different 
effect  on  them  from  that  of  the  young  growth.  The  latter  is 
washy,  and  scours  them,  and  "  takes  away  tlicir  appetites,''  as  the 
old  farmers  say.  During  the  winter  I  frequently  let  my  sheep 
out  twice  a  week,  if  the  weather  is  favorable  ;  and  I  find  no  in- 
jurious result  from  it,  even  though  they  remain  on  the  grass  all 
day  and  fill  themselves.  In  fact,  I  generally  give  them  only 
their  grain  rations  on  these  days  and  no  coarse  feed  at  all.  Nor 
do  I  find  their  appetites,  the  following  morning,  anywise  dulled 
for  their  hay  or  fodder.  But  after  the  grass  starts  a  little  this 
will  not  answer.     If  they  are  left  on  it  even  half  an  hour,  the 


FOR   WOOL  AI?"D    MUTTOX.  201 

next  day  they  will  mince  over  their  dry  feed  and  not  consume 
a  quarter  of  it.  They  are  purged  and  they  stand  with  hollow 
bellies  and  look  through  the  gate  all  day  long.  They  must  now 
be  restrained  in  their  riui  on  the  grass  ;  it  must  be  greatly  cur- 
tailed. The  last  two  or  three  weeks,  or  month,  before  turning 
them  out  to  pasture,  I  do  not  suffer  them  to  run  on  grass  more 
than  a  quarter  as  much  as  they  do  through  the  winter.  Fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes  a  day,  or  say  while  you  are  putting  a  fresh 
feed  into  the  racks,  is  long  enough  ;  and  with  this  restriction, 
the  privilege  may  be  granted  them  every  day.  I  do  not  lengthen 
the  time  at  all  up  to  the  very  last  day  of  feeding  them  on  dry 
feed.  Then  catch  and  tag  the  flock,  shorten  the  long  hoofs  (it 
is  well  to  attend  to  both  these  matters  several  days  beforehand, 
on  rainy  days,  or  at  any  other  convenient  time),  and  let  all  go. 

Hoove. — I  find  that  suckling  ewes  are  more  liable  to  this 
trouble  than  any  other  class  of  sheep.  The  insatiable  appetite 
created  by  the  constant  drain  on  the  system  during  lactation,  is 
apt  to  make  them  overeat.  It  is  dangerous  to  tiu-n  ewes  and 
lambs  on  a  field  of  clover  (white  or  red)  until  they  have  been 
long  enough  on  grass  to  get  their  bowels  toned  up,  their  ali- 
mentary systems  recovered  from  the  winter  torpor.  Hoove  is 
caused,  primarily,  by  a  lack  of  mucus,  superinduced  by  the  diy 
feed  of  w inter.  Mucus  is  needed  to  assist  the  peristaltic  action 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels.  This  it  is  which  makes  necessary 
the  gradual  wonting  of  the  sheep  to  the  more  succulent  feed  of 
spring.  Sheep  ought  never  to  be  turned  upon  clover  when  it  is 
wet,  and  very  carefulh^  at  all  times,  until  it  is  in  blossom,  unless 
they  have  been  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  great  change  by 
plenty  of  soft  feed,  roots,  bran  mashes,  green  rye,  etc. 

A  suckling  ewe  will  succumb  under  hoove  more  easily  than  a 
cow  ;  her  muscular  and  vascular  system  is  frailer.  When  fer- 
mentation has  already  set  in,  and  the  paunch  is  distressfully 
distended  with  gas,  a  teaspoonful  of  turpentine  may  be  admin- 
istered in  a  little  cold  water.  A  two-ounce  dose  of  Epsom  salts, 
with  ginger  and  gentian,  should  be  given  as  a  preventive  of  its 
recurrence. 

Depasturing  Wheat  with  Sheep.— It  is  when  spring  has 
fully  set  in  that  the  uses  of  depasturing  appear.  The  ground  is 
then  seamed  with  frost  cracks,  puffy  ;  the  wheat  tufts  are  more 
or  less  thrown  up  ;  the  earth  needs  to  be  compressed  and  packed 
about  the  roots.  Cattle  make  deep  foot  tracks,  with  the  wheat 
thrust  down  to  the  bottom  of  tkem  ;  but  sheep  pack  the  surface 


202  THE    AMEKICAN^   MERII^O 

gently  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  deep  with  their  innu- 
merable tracks,  covering  it  all  over  (I  have  found  that,  even 
when  they  run  on  naked  ground  during  a  winter  thaw,  they  do 
not  pack  it  over  two  inches). 

Sheep  are  very  peculiar  and  capricious  in  their  way  of  graz- 
ing growing  grain.  They  do  not  fancy  it  much  at  best,  and 
they  avoid  all  long  stalks,  seeking  to  bite  close  to  the  ground. 
I  have  seen  them  depasture  a  field  of  rye  in  a  singular,  patchy 
way — ^here  a  spot  a  rod  or  so  square  eaten  to  the  very  ground, 
while  close  at  hand  is  another  with  the  rye  heading  out  three 
feet  in  air,  never  having  been  touched.  This  happens  when 
they  have  too  much,  or  are  allowed  to  stay  on  it  too  long  at  a 
time. 

If  permitted  to  graze  wheat  in  this  fashion,  it  would  work 
mischief.  When  it  is  seen  that  they  are  incUned  to  do  so,  they 
must  be  broken  up,  herded,  pushed  about,  not  allowed  to  settle 
down  on  their  favorite  spots  and  gnaw  them  down  to  the  earth. 
The  rank  patches,  which  need  depasturing  most,  they  will  graze 
least,  if  they  are  not  somewhat  controlled. 

They  ought  not  to  be  turned  into  a  wheat  field  in  the  spring 
until  it  is  dry  and  settled  enough  to  be  fit  for  harrowing — dry 
enough  to  be  a  little  crumbly.  If  there  comes  a  sudden  March 
freeze,  foUowed  by  a  thaw,  I  do  not  allow  them  to  return  to  it 
for  a  few  days. 

It  is  not  a  good  practice  to  allow  a  large  flock  of  sheep  to  run 
into  and  out  of  a  wheat  field  a  number  of  days  at  the  same  place. 
If  a  flock  of  young  sheep  can  be  turned  on  at  the  proper  time 
and  kept  in  the  field  day  and  night  until  their  work  is  done,  or 
turned  in  at  a  different  place  every  day,  better  results  will  be 
accomplished.     I  turn  them  off  before  the  wheat  begins  to  joint. 

The  effects  of  depasturing  wheat  are:  That  the  amount  of  foli- 
age is  reduced,  the  tufts  are  rendered  lower  and  more  stocky, 
the  whole  field  has  a  cleaner,  more  open  and  more  even  appear- 
ance. There  is  a  freer  circulation  of  air  through  the  growing 
grain,  and  a  reduced  tendency  to  rust.  A  judicious  depasturing 
hardens  and  toughens  it  up.  This  is  my  experience  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Southern  Ohio.  Further  north  it  would  probably  seldom 
be  the  case  that  sheep  would  be  beneficial  to  green  wheat. 


FOR   WOOL  AK"D   MUTTOIf.  203 

CHAPTEEXXI. 
FODDERS    FOR    SHEEP. 

Red  Clover. — This  is  the  best  of  all  foliage  plants  for  sheep- 
feed,  if  well  cured  ;  and  the  curing  and  saving  of  it  are  so  apt 
to  be  ill-done  (making  it  one  of  the  poorest  of  fodders),  that  a 
few  directions,  founded  on  experience,  will  not  come  amiss  to 
the  young  shepherd.  If  the  soil  is  very  rich,  clover  is  apt  to 
grow  coarse  and  lodge.  To  render  it  fine  enough  for  sheep  it  is 
best  to  sow  it  thick,  say  one  and  a  half  gallons  to  the  acre  (one 
gallon  on  thinner  land).  A  gallon  of  timothy  seed  per  acre, 
sown  the  preceding  fall,  is  a  good  addition  ;  the  timothy  will 
assist  the  clover  to  stand  up  and  make  it  finer. 

When  the  earliest  clover  blossoms  have  turned  brown  it  is  time 
to  set  about  the  cutting,  though  it  may  be  well  to  delay  a  few 
days  if  the  barometer  does  not  indicate  settled  weather.  If 
there  is  a  fair  promise  of  three  or  four  days  of  clear  weather, 
and  help  is  abundant,  five  or  six  acres  may  safely  be  cut  down 
at  once  ;  this  should  be  done  in  the  afternoon.  A  half  day's 
steady  sunshine  will  wilt  it  sufficiently,  if  the  thick  bunches  at 
the  corners  of  the  lands  are  shaken  out  a  little  in  the  morning. 
The  farmer  should  twist  a  handful  of  it  to  see  how  much  moist- 
ure the  stalks  contain.  If  no  sap  can  be  wrung  out  of  them,  he 
may  proceed  to  rake  it  into  windrows,  and  leave  these  over 
night,  unless  rain  is  threatening.  If  so,  it  should  be  made  up 
into  cocks,  about  as  high  as  a  man's  head,  and  rather  slender. 
On  the  third  day,  as  soon  as  the  sun  has  thoroughly  dried  the 
hay,  the  cocks  (or  windrows)  should  be  turned,  bottom-side  up, 
and,  perhaps,  the  lower  half  of  each  cock  (now  the  upper  half) 
pulled  aside,  thus  dividing  it  into  two  equal  portions.  At  night 
cock  up  again,  in  larger  cocks  if  desired.  On  the  fourth  day, 
as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off,  haul  the  hay  in  without  opening  the 
cocks. 

In  catching  weather,  the  farmer  wUl  have  to  vary  this  pro- 
gramme to  suit  circumstances  ;  but  on  no  account  should  clover 
hay  be  hauled  in  when  very  damp,  especially  if  damp  from  ex- 
traneous moisture.  Better  let  it  stand  several  days,  thrusting 
the  arm  into  the  cocks  occasionally  to  see  if  they  are  heating. 
If  they  are  getting  a  trifle  warm  at  the  bottom  and  there  is 
not  time  between  showers  to  dry  them  out  and  haul  in,  build 


204  THE   AMEBICAK   MEEI^^O 

the  cocks  over,  puttino^  the  bottom  on  top,  handling  carefully, 
running  them  up  high  and  sharp  to  shed  rain. 

Salt  should  never  be  sprinkled  over  hay  of  any  kind  when  it 
is  mowed  away ;  it  attracts  moisture  and  discolors  the  hay. 
Air-slaked  lime  is  good  ;  it  may  be  put  on  in  almost  any  quan- 
tity without  rendering  the  hay  distasteful  to  sheep.  If  the 
clover  is  pretty  heavy,  and  the  farmer  has  straw  convenient,  it 
is  well  to  put  a  layer  of  straw  about  six  inches  thick,  alternately 
with  a  layer  of  clover,  about  a  foot  thick,  and  not  allow  it  to 
be  tramped  much. 

Where  clover  is  sown  on  wheat,  and  comes  on  very  rank  after 
hai'vest,  it  is  best  to  mow  and  cure  it.  This  leaves  the  ground 
cleaner  for  next  year's  mowing,  and  the  sheep  will  readily  sort 
the  clover  from  the  wheat  stubble.  If  the  soil  is  very  rich,  and 
the  season  rainy,  however,  clover  rowen  is  not  safe  fodder  for 
sheep.  I  have  had  a  few  animals  killed  by  it,  and  a  large  num- 
ber in  the  flock  were  miserabh^  "  slobbered  "  and  sickened. 

It  has  also  come  within  my  experience  that  clover  hay  (first 
growth),  cut  very  green  and  succulent  on  rich  river  bottoms, 
has  caused  pregnant  ewes  to  "  slink  "  their  lambs.  This  is  a 
very  rare  occurrence,  however. 

Corn  Fodder. — To  the  casual  observer  it  might  seem  quite  a 
hopeless  undertaking  to  winter  an  animal,  which  is  so  dainty, 
and  which  searches  the  ground  over  so  carefully  for  the  finest 
herbage  as  the  sheep,  on  such  coarse  provender.  But  after 
sheep  have  once  been  trained  to  eat  it,  corn  fodder  is  one  of  the 
very  best  feeds  for  them  ;  superior  to  every  other  except  clover 
hay. 

For  cattle,  com  may  be  kept  until  it  is  yellow  almost  to  the 
tassel,  but  for  sheep,  the  best  fodder  will  be  secured  by  cutting 
as  soon  as  the  husk  shows  the  color.  When  husked,  it  should 
be  bound  into  brmdles  with  tan-ed  twine  ;  this  will  prevent  the 
rats  and  mice  from  gnawing  the  bands.  With  a  knot  in  one 
end,  slipping  into  a  noose  at  the  other,  such  a  band  can  be  easily 
unfastened  in  winter,  slipped  into  the  pocket  and  saved  for 
another  season. 

All  corn-fodder  ought  to  be  ricked  near  the  feeding-yards 
This  may  be  done  the  last  of  November  or  first  of  December — if 
the  fodder  is  not  wet — without  danger  of  molding. 

My  way  of  ricking  fodder  is  as  follows  :  I  lay  down  a  double 
row  of  bundles,  top  to  top,  lapping  to  the  bands.  To  keep  the 
middle  full,  I  make  every  other  course  or  layer  a  single  one, 


FOR   WOOL  AKD   MLTTOK.  205 

consisting  of  bundles  laid  butt  to  tip  alternately.  I  do  not 
draw  in  any.  At  a  suitable  height  I  lay  a  stringer  of  bundles 
endwise  on  the  rick,  three  or  four  to  each  length,  which  sharp- 
ens up  a  basis  for  the  roof.  The  roof  consists  of  a  single  course 
on  each  side,  the  bundles  sloping  up  to  a  peak. 

Colonel  F.  D.  Curtis  says  "cornstalks  are  wasteful  food  for 
sheep,"  and  he  recommends  that  the  leaves  be  stripi>ed  off  when 
green,  cured,  and  bound  in  bundles  for  suckling  ewes  and  early 
lambs.  The  farmers  of  the  Atlantic  slope  can  probably  best 
dispose  of  their  small  cornstalks  by  cutting  them  for  cattle  ;  but 
I  doubt  if  it  will  pay  to  cut  the  large  stalks  of  the  West ;  and 
when  given  out  uncut,  sheep  wiU  pick  them  far  cleaner  than 
will  cattle  or  horses. 

I  never  wintered  lambs  on  com-f odder,  but  a  neighbor  of 
mine,  Mr.  W.  S.  Gray,  a  careful,  practical  shepherd,  has  done 
so  several  times  with  excellent  results. 

Fodder  Corn.— In  Vol.  I.,  No.,  I.  of  The  ShejjhcrcTs  National 
Journal,  Mr.  Arvine  C.  Wales,  of  Stark  County,  Ohio,  gives  a 
very  valuable  account  of  his  mode  of  growing  this  kind  of  for- 
age for  sheep.  He  states  that  he  sows  about  two  or  two  and  a 
half  bushels  of  common  corn  per  acre,  with  a  Buckeye  wheat 
drill,  in  the  first  week  of  June.  His  only  cultivation  is  to  run 
the  Thomas  Smoothing  HaiTOw  once  or  twice  over  it  when  about 
three  inches  high.  He  harvests  with  a  Champion,  side-delivery, 
self -raking  reaper,  beginning  about  the  first  week  in  September, 
when  the  lower  joint  is  turned  to  a  bright  yellow.  I  coi3y  his 
own  words:  "Besides  the  driver  of  the  machine,  there  are 
eight  men,  divided  into  four  gangs,  of  two  to  a  gang.  The 
'  stations '  are  measured  off  and  assigned  as  in  reaping  wheat. 
Each  gang  of  two  men  is  provided  with  a  '  com  horse,'  which 
is  simply  a  Ught  rail,  with  two  legs  at  one  end,  and  a  loose  four 
foot  pin  in  the  middle.  Each  gang  is  also  [)rovided  with  a 
quantity  of  wool  twine,  cut  to  a  suitable  length,  and  hung  on  a 
hook  in  the  end  of  the  'horse.'  When  the  men  are  in  their 
places,  and  the  machine  starts,  one  of  the  men  passes  two  of 
the  gavels  or  sheaves,  and  sets  up  his  'horse.'  He  then  goes 
back  and  picks  up  the  two  gavels,  one  at  a  time,  and  puts  them 
into  two  of  the  angles  formed  by  the  '  horse '  and  and  its  loose 
pin  ;  his  comrade  does  the  same  with  the  two  gavels  in  front  of 
the  '  horse.'  Then  one  draws  out  the  pin  and  moves  the  '  horse ' 
on  by  two  more  while  the  other,  with  a  piece  of  wool  twine  a 
yard  long,  binds  the  top  of  the  shock.     Here  it  stands  for  ten 


206  THE  AMERICA?^   3IERI^^0 

days  or  two  weeks,  till  it  is  partly  cured.  Then  the  men  break 
the  shocks  open,  each  shock  generally  separating  into  the  four 
original  gavels,  and  bind  it  into  sheaves  with  the  fodder  itself, 
which  by  this  time  has  become  tough  and  withy.  Twelve  or 
more  sheaves  are  then  put  into  a  great  shock  and  the  top  of  it 
bound  by  the  wool  twine  used  in  the  first  place*. 

"  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  say  that  one  is  far  less  dependent 
on  the  weather  in  curing  fodder  corn  than  in  making  hay.  Sev- 
eral years  it  has  rained  nearly  every  day  while  cutting,  but  I 
never  lost  a  hundred  pounds  through  wet  weather,  unless  it  had 
blown  down  and  been  allowed  to  lie  on  the  ground.  Here  it 
should  stand  until  wanted  for  feed.  It  is  so  full  of  sugar,  and 
starch,  and  gum,  that  it  cannot  be  safely  stored  in  barns  or 
slacks.  It  will  heat  and  ferment.  A  near  neighbor  lost  his 
entire  crop  last  winter,  although  carefully  stacked  in  long,  low, 
narrow  ricks.  This  is  the  greatest  objection  to  fodder  corn.  It 
is  hard  getting  it  up  when  repeated  freezings  and  thawings  have 
glued  it  to  the  ground  towards  spring  ;  and  it  is  hard  hauling 
when  the  wheels  sink  through  the  soft  ground  to  the  bottom  of 

the  furrow. 

***** 

"  I  cut  and  steam  all  my  fodder.  It  is  cut  on  a  cutter  with  a 
capacity  of  three  or  four  tons  per  hour. 

"  The  yield  of  dry  fodder  has  been  from  five  to  seven  tons  per 
acre,  and  I  carry  as  much  stock  and  get  as  much  and  as  good 
feed  from  seventy  acres  of  fodder  corn,  as  I  used  to  get  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of 
meadow.  Whoever  sows  corn  for  the  first  time  will  be  aston- 
ished at  the  amount  of  feed  he  will  have  in  September." 

Timothy. — Every  farmer  is  presumed  to  know  how  to  cut 
and  cure  timothy,  but  there  are  few  who  sow  it  thick  enough 
and  cut  it  in  the  right  stage  to  make  fine,  palatable  sheep-feed. 
On  mellow,  rich  land  I  have  found  it  advisable  to  sow  two  gal- 
lons of  seed  per  acre.  Coarse,  ripe- timothy  is  about  the  poorest 
sheep-fodder  that  can  be  imagined.  It  ought  to  be  cut  when  in 
blossom  ;  and  if  there  is  a  large  amount  of  it  to  be  harvested,  it 
is  well  to  commence  even  earlier,  reserving  the  finest  and  green- 
est for  lambs,  and  tlie  later  cut  for  older  sheep.  Unmixed 
timothy  is  very  objectionable  for  pregnant  ewes  ;  it  is  too  con- 
stipating. They  will  eat  off  the  heads  and  the  leaves,  avoiding 
the  stalks  to  the  last ;  and  if  these  are  over-ripe  and  woody  they 
may  become  impacted  in  the  stomach,  causing  heat  and  irrita- 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  207 

tion.  If  the  ewes  are  suckling  lambs,  the  latter  are  apt  to  die 
of  constipation  at  the  age  of  one  or  two  weeks.  For  fattening 
wethers  it  is  somewhat  better,  but  to  any  class  of  sheep  it  ought 
not  to  be  given  more  thaa  once  a  day,  with  an  alternation  of 
some  more  laxative  fodder. 

Objectionable  as  clear  timothy  is,  I  do  not  think  it  advisable 
(with  the  exception  of  a  light  admixture  of  timothy  with  clover, 
as  above  noted)  to  sow  meadows  with  mixed  seed.  Pastures 
may  well  be  composed  of  various  grasses,  thus  affording  a  cue- 
cession  of  feed  ;  but  a  meadow  has  a  set  time  for  harvest,  and 
the  different  grasses  do  not  ripen  simultaneously.  It  is  best  to 
grow  and  harvest  each  by  itself;  then,  for  variety,  feed  the 
flock  from  different  mows.  To  this  end  there  should  be  a  suc- 
cession of  meadows,  as,  for  instance,  clover,  orchard  grass, 
timothy,  red-top,  Hungarian  grass  ;  then  each  can  be  haiwested 
when  it  is  at  its  best  stage  of  growth  and  ripeness. 

Orchard  Grass  {Dactylis  glomerata). — This,  if  allowed  to 
become  over-ripe,  is  even  poorer  for  sheep  than  timothy,  if  this 
is  possible.  It  ought  to  be  mown  as  soon  as  the  seed-stalks 
have  attained  their  full  height,  before  the  pollen  begins  to  fly 
about.  Well  secured  in  this  stage,  it  is  so  thoroughly  good  that 
I  have  for  years  always  had  one,  and  sometimes  two,  of  my 
meadows  in  orchard  grass.  It  does  not  yield  quite  so  much 
weight  per  acre  as  timothy,  but  it  more  tnan  compensates  for 
this  by  the  dense  and  vigorous  af  ter:nath  wliich  it  throws  up, 
affording  luxuriant  pasturage  for  four  or  five  months,  while,  if 
the  autumn  is  dry,  the  timothy  stubble  will  remain  gray  and 
parched.  Most  farmers  make  a  failure  with  orchard  grass 
because  they  do  not  sow  it  thick  enough.  Two  or  two  and  a 
half  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  are  required  to  prevent  it  from 
growing  in  tussocks  and  to  make  it  fine  enough  for  sheep.  It 
should  be  sown  in  March  on  a  very  fine,  well-harrowed  seed-bed. 

Hungarian  Grass  {Panicum  Germanicum). — This,  too,  should 
be  sown  very  thick  for  sheep-feed,  say  a  bushel  per  acre,  on 
strong  soils.  Otherwise  it  produces  heads  so  large  as  to  be  dis- 
tasteful to  sheep,  and  they  will  leave  them  lying  in  the  rack 
after  eating  the  stalks  and  leaves.  This  is  especially  liable  to 
happen  when  the  hay  has  not  been  cured  enough,  in  which  case 
the  large,  succulent  heads  will  become  moldy.  To  prevent  this 
hay  from  molding  is,  in  fact,  the  chief  difficulty  in  its  manage- 
ment. It  ought  to  be  exposed  nearly,  or  quite,  three  days  to 
the  sunshine.     At  best  it  is  suited  to  grown  sheep,  rather  than 


208  THE  america:n^  merino 

to  lambs,  and  it  ranks  high  as  a  milk-iDroducing  feed  for  suck- 
ling ewes. 

Red-top  {Agrostis  vulgaris). — This  makes  excellent  hay  for 
sheep,  but,  like  timothy,  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  stand  too 
long,  and  become  dry  and  woody.  In  Southern  Ohio,  on  red 
and  yeUow  clay  uplands,  it  succeeds  better  than  timothy,  which 
it  will  eventually  supplant ;  and  it  makes,  also,  better  hay,  be- 
cause it  is  finer  and  more  nutritious.  Sheep  fed  on  bright,  red- 
top  hay  will  wmter  as  well  as  those  fed  on  timothy  with  the 
addition  of  a  half-bushel  of  shelled  corn  per  hundred  each  day. 

Meadow  Grass. — Under  the  various  names,  June  grass.  Blue 
grass,  etc.,  rather  loosely  and  indiscriminately  applied,  most 
Western  farmers  are  familiar  with  one  or  both  of  two  species, 
Poa  pratensis  and  Poa  compressa.  They  are  so  nearly  alike  in 
feeding  value  and  other  respects,  that  most  farmers  recognize 
no  difference  between  them.  They  are  the  richest  of  all  grasses, 
native  or  cultivated,  and  are  incomparable  for  pasture,  but  for 
meadows  they  are  unsatisfactory  to  thrifty  farmers,  as  they 
yield  so  light  a  weight  of  hay.  I  have,  however,  found  it  very 
advantageous  to  mow  smaU  areas  of  them,  natural  hillside 
meadows,  strips  of  creek-bottoms,  etc.,  as  they  furnish  for 
lambs  by  far  the  finest  and  richest  hay  obtainable. 

Miscellaneous.— The  vines  of  beans  and  peas  are  better  rel- 
ished by  sheep  than  by  other  stock,  and  are  excellent  for  a  va- 
riety. Clover  chaff,  the  refuse  material  left  after  the  seed  has 
been  threshed  out,  if  not  too  much  bleached,  will  be  eaten  by 
sheep  to  some  extent. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  there  are  patches  in  the  cattle  pasture 
too  rank  to  be  eaten  green  ;  these  ought  to  be  mown  and  cured 
for  the  sheep.  A  certain  portion  of  weeds  and  bitter  stuff,  rag- 
weeds, morning-glory  vines,  docks,  etc.,  will  be  more  accept- 
able to  sheep  occasionally,  than  an  unbroken  regimen  of  the 

best  of  hay. 

The  orts  in  the  racks  ought  to  be  thrown  into  a  separate  rack 
and  brined  ;  if  there  is  still  a  remnant  left,  the  horses  will  con- 
sume most  of  it.    Cattle  disUke  the  leavings  of  sheep. 


FOR   WOOL   Ai^D    MUTTOIT.  ^09 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
SYSTEMS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY. 

On  the  Atlantic  Slope. — In  the  famous  standard  or  stud- 
flocks  of  Vermont,  the  rule  is  said  to  be,  twenty  tons  of  hay  for 
every  hundred  sheep.  It  is  probable  that  the  celebrated  breeder, 
Edwin  Hammond,  of  that  State,  did  more  to  increase  the  wool- 
bearing  capacity  of  the  sheep  of  this  country  than  any  other 
dozen  men  ;  yet  we  have  the  testimony  of  Doctor  Randall,  that* 
he  fed  his  ewes  nothing  but  hay. 

But,  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  the  Merino  is  no  longer  preeminent, 
except  in  limited  areas— of  which  the  most  notable  is  Vermont 
— for  the  production  of  wool  and  mutton  is  an  entirely  subordi- 
nate industry,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  region  very  much 
superior  to  others,  devoted  more  largely  to  wool-growing  in  req- 
uisites necessary  to  success,  in  mixed  farming.  And  this  fact 
makes  it  creditable  to  sheep  that  they  retain  as  permanent  a 
foothold  as  they  do  there.  The  breeds  of  sheep  are  perhaps  not 
as  well  defined  or  as  highly  improved  as  in  the  West ;  there 
lingers  a  greater  proportion  of  the  old  native  American  stock, 
described  by  Youatt  as  being  a  sort  of  mongrel  scrub  Leicester, 
mixed  with  Southdown  and  Cots  wold. 

The  limited  product  of  grain  and  the  great  cheapness  with 
which  it  can  be  produced  in  the  West  render  it  too  high-priced 
to  be  given  to  sheep  in  any  quantity.  Eastern  farmers  endeavor 
to  whiter  their  stock  or  breeding  flocks  without  grain — on  clover 
hay,  chaff,  pea.  bean,  wheat  and  oat  straw — thus  making  them 
serve  as  scavengers  or  consumers  of  refuse  products.  This  for 
the  reason  that  there  is  a  cash  market  for  nearly  everything, 
even  rye  and  wheat  straw.  A  prominent  object  with  them  is 
the  growing  of  early  lambs  for  the  market.  They  buy  CTves 
shipped  from  the  West,  generally  those  which  have  passed  their 
prime  ;  rangy,  good-sized,  oj)en-wooled  gi'ade  Merinos;  on  which 
they  cross  a  Southdown  or  Cotswold  ram  two  years  old  or  \ip- 
wards.  The  earliest  lambs  are  dropped  from  January  loth  to 
February  loth  ;  the  ewes  are  well  sheltered  and  fed  to  improve 
their  condition,  so  that  they  generally  yean  fine,  sti'ong  lambs. 
AVhen  the  latter  are  a  few  weeks  old  they  are  allowed  access  to 
a  separate  apartment,  and  are  fed  bran,  meal,  and  gi'ound  oats 
in  troughs.  They  generally  bring  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
to  five  dollars  per  head  when  they  will  weigh  thirty  or  forty 


210  THE   AMERICAN   IIERIXO 

pounds  gross ;  sometimes  as  high  as  ten  dollars  !  If  not  too 
aged,  the  ewes  are  retained  for  further  service  ;  if  they  are,  they 
are  fattened  for  the  fall  market.  A  Southdown  ram  generally 
costs  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars.  They  are  preferred  to  the 
Cotswold,  Lincoln,  or  middle-wool  rams,  because  their  lambs, 
though  smaller,  fatten  better,  have  better  hams,  and  produce  a 
marbled  flesh. 

The  Merino's  share  in  this,  oftentimes  very  profitable,  business 
is  a  somewhat  humble  one,  yet  it  seems  likely  to  be  enduring, 
because,  while  the  crossing  with  a  Merino  does  not  impair  the 
quality  of  the  mutton,  the  Merino  ewe  brought  from  the  West 
offers  the  cheapest  medium  through  which  this  mutton  can  be 
produced.  A  ewe  too  old  to  do  further  service  as  a  breeder  in 
the  vast  flocks  of  the  plains  is  still,  in  most  cases,  capable  of 
doing  one  or  more  year's  excellent  work  in  a  small,  well-fed 
flock  ;  and  she  can  be  transported  and  sold  to  the  New  York  or 
New  Jersey  farmer  for  less  money  than  it  would  cost  him  to 
raise  either  a  Dovv-n  or  a  Merino  on  his  own  farm. 

One  of  the  curious  by-products  of  the  sheep  that  may  be 
mentioned  is  the  manure,  which  is  sought  for  by  the  tobacco- 
gTowers  of  the  Connecticut  River  valley.  Mr.  J.  F.  C.  Allis,  of 
East  Whately,  Massachusetts,  in  a  letter  to  Hon.  John  L.  Hayes, 
states  that  Merinos,  crossed  with  long-wools,  are  the  best  for 
this  purpose  ;  they  are  better  feeders  and  take  on  fat  more  easily 
than  the  long- wools.  The  feeders  buy  large  wethers  from  Mich- 
igan, from  three  to  five  years  old,  and  have  them  pastured  till 
November.  Then  they  are  closely  housed,  forty  or  fifty  in  a 
pen,  and  well  bedded  ;  about  December  1st  they  begin  to  feed 
grain  lightly,  gradually  increasing,  until  they  eat  a  quart  apiece 
daily.  They  seldom  eat  more  than  that.  Mr.  Allis  furtlier 
says  : 

"The  cause  for  feeding  so  many  sheep  for  their  mutton  in 
this  valley  is  the  high  value  of  sheep-manure  for  tobacco-grow- 
ers, it  having  the  effect  on  our  liglit  soil  to  produce  a  dark-colored 
silky  leaf,  of  good  burning  quality,  suitable  for  wrapping  fine 
cigars  ;  the  tobacco  burns  white,  and  has  a  good,  sweet  flavor, 
perhaps  owing  to  the  potash  it  derives  from  the  maraire.  So 
valuable  do  we  consider  this  sheep-manure  that  we  have  shipped, 
since''1870,  from  West  Albany,  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  cords,  costing  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  a  cord,  everv  spring. 
On  our  ligl)t  stnls,  called  pine-lands,  after  raising  crops  of  to- 
bacco, two  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre,  we  have  sown  wheat ; 
yielding  thirty  bushels  of  a  plump  berry,  and  a  heavy  weight 


FOE    ATOOL   AXD    3IUTT0i^.  211 

of  straw,  on  land  which  without  this  manure  is  fit  only  for 
white  beans.  We,  of  late  years,  feed  with  our  sweetest  and 
finest  hay,  and  mix  with  our  corn,  one- third  cotton- seed  meal ; 
by  so  feeding  our  sheej)  fatten  more  easily,  being  more  hardy 
and  better  conditioned,  besides  increasing  the  value  of  the  ma- 
nure and  rendering  it  more  full  of  plant  food." 

Wm.  Ottman  &  Co.,  wholesale  butchers  in  Fulton  Market, 
New  York,  state  that  at  the  time  of  writing  (March,  1885),  well- 
fattened  Merino  wether  carcasses  are  selling  at  one  and  a  half  to 
two  cents  per  poand  less  than  corresponding  Southdown  car- 
casses. Yet,  so  little  do  the  latter  excel  the  former  in  size -that 
the  butchers,  to  prevent  their  fastidious  customers  from  impo- 
sition, are  obliged  to  leave  the  dark  skin  on  the  legs. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  Merino  has  these  odds  to  contend 
against,  as  a  mutton-producer,  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  still  there 
are,  undoubtedly,  manj^  localities  in  that  section  where,  owiiig 
to  the  unfavorable  conditions  for  turnip  growing,  the  superior- 
ity of  the  Merino  as  a  dry-feeder  and  also  as  a  wool-producer,  it 
will  be  advisable  for  the  farmer  to  choose  this  breed.  I  have, 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  indicated,  briefly,  the  best  methods 
of  growing  and  curing  the  various  dry  fodders  for  sheep  ;  it  re- 
mains now  to  consider  the  subject  of  growing  those  roots  and 
green  crops  which  are  found  to  be  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
the  sheep. 

Of  roots,  the  best  is  the  sugar  beet ;  then  follow,  in  their  order, 
mangels,  ruta-bagas  and  turnips.  Mustard,  rape  and  rye  are  valu- 
able forgreen-feedingor  for  that  system,  originated  iu  England, 
which  may  be  called  open-air  soiling.  Rape  may  be  sown  as 
early  as  August,  on  a  wheat  or  rye  stubble,  for  fall  and  early  win- 
ter pasturage  ;  and  again  in  September,  or  early  in  October  for 
spring  grazing.  Mustard  sown  in  the  spring  affords  summer 
pasturage,  and  turnips  may  be  sown  so  as  to  furnish  feed  in  the 
field  as  early  as  September,  or  even  earlier,  while  the  beets, 
mangels  and  ruta-bagas  will  mature  later,  to  be  harvested  for  win- 
ter. Mr.  Henry  Stewart,  in  giving  his  experience,  says  :  ' '  One 
acre  of  either  of  these  crops  will  feed  fifty  ewes  from  fourteen 
to  twenty-one  days,  as  the  yield  may  be  small  or  large  ;  a  fair 
yield  upon  good  soil  will  last  the  longer  period  ;  but  it  is  neces- 
sary in  feeding  these  crops,  to  give  the  sheep  only  a  narrow  strip 
each  day — thus,  one  acre  being  about  two  hundred  and  ten  feet 
square,  ten  feet  in  width  may  be  given  to  the  sheep  for  their 
daily  supply,  which  will  give  forty  square  feet  for  each  sheep. 
Anyone  who  has  grown  mustard  or  rape,  will  see  in  a  moment 


212  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

that  the  supply  of  food  would  be  ample,  and  after  one  has  had 
some  practice  in  growing  and  feeding  these  crops  the  provision 
may  be  made  to  furnish  a  full  supply  to  twice  as  many  sheep  as 
has  been  mentioned. 

"It  is  an  essential  part  of  this  business  that  the  fields  should 
be  well  arranged.  The  most  convenient  method  is  to  have  no 
larii-er  fields  than  five  acres  for  fifty  sheep,  and  to  have  them 
long  and  narrow — that  is,  about  two  hundred  feet  wide  and 
twelve  hundred  feet  long ;  the  fields  being  divided  from  each 
other  by  portable  fences,  so  that  they  may  be  changed  at  will. 
A  long  field  of  this  kind  may  be  put  into  crops,  sown  succes- 
sively one  to  follow  the  other,  and  at  the  above  rate  of  feeding, 
five  acres  would  feed  fifty  sheep  for  one  hundred  and  twenty 
days  before  it  was  all  gone  over  once ;  and  by  replowing  and 
sowing,  behind  the  flock,  a  new  supply  will  be  coming  on  to  be 
used  as  soon  as  the  end  of  the  field  is  reached. 

"  This  system  is  thus  admirably  adapted  to  mixed  farming,  in 
which  a  flock  of  sheep  can  be  utilized  with  great  economy  and 
profit,  as  well  as  to  a  special  sheep  farm.  It  is  perhaps  most 
available  for  a  mixed  farm,  because  of  the  fine  condition  of  the 
ground  thus  fed  off,  the  soil  being  well  and  richly  fertilized  by 
the  sheep,  and  the  manure  being  distributed  far  more  evenly 
than  it  could  be  done  by  hand.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  method  of  sum- 
mer fallowing  land  without  labor  and  with  much  greater  ad- 
vantage and  effect  than  could  be  gained  by  the  usual  way  of 
doing  it,  and  at  the  same  time  making  a  considerable  profit." 

The  Submontane  District. — There  is  a  large  submontane 
region  extending  along  both  flanks  of  the  Appalachian  chain, 
from  Lake  Champlain  to  the  Kanawha  Eiver.  wliich  may  be  con- 
sidered the  home  and  stronghold  of  tlie  American  Merino,  where 
it  will  permanently  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  Cotswold 
and  the  Down.  Here  the  mountaineer  will  for  all  time  find 
these  sheep  the  sheet-anchor  of  his  humble  system  of  husbandry, 
believing  the  old  Virginian  saying,  that  "  they  are  an  unhappy 
flock."  By  their  fertilizing  droppings,  scattered  on  the  sum- 
mits of  the  knolls  and  hills  where  they  delight  to  spend  the 
night  and  the  heat  of  the  day,  they  will  counteract  the  erosion 
by  the  rain  and  the  frost  and  prevent  that  suicidal  waste  of  soil 
from  hillside  plowing  by  which  the  farmer  feeds  the  rivers  from 
the  heart  of  his  pocket-book. 

In  this  region  the  basis  of  sheep  husbandry  is  Indian  corn, 
hay,  and  fodder.     The  size  of  flocks  increases  as  we  go  West. 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTO?^. 


213 


|!W!!W!M^i:;::rr,r!..-!p*!!fl!||W!|*I|p!!iy^ 


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214  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

In  Western  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  Ohio  and 
Indiana,  Merinos  and  their  grades  prevail,  of  established  breeds, 
thouLih  in  the  southern  half  of  this  region  there  are  still  im- 
mense numbers  of  the  old  natives,  or  "mountain  rangers," 
whose  bald  heads  denote  a  mongrel  Leicester  blood  coming  from 
Virginia.  The  Pan-handle  and  adjacent  regions  still  have  some 
large  flocks,  yielding  the  superfine  or  electoral  wools.  Wash- 
ington County,  Pennsylvania,  is  the  home  of  the  Black-tops 
or  Delaine  Merinos.  Western  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and 
Southern  Ohio  grow  a  plainer  sheep  and  a  longer  staple  than 
Vermont,  Western  New  York,  and  Northern  Ohio.  Pennsylva- 
nia, West  Virginia,  and  Ohio  sheep  are  accounted  the  truest 
representatives  of  the  American  Merino,  and  their  wool  has  long 
been  quoted  highest  in  the  Eastern  markets.  But  in  Ohio,  of 
late  years,  the  breeding  of  very  wrinkly  and  yolky  sheep  to 
cross  on  the  coarse  Mexicans  of  the  West  has  somewhat  debased 
the  staple — as  happened  in  Vermont  from  a  similar  cause — 
which,  together  with  frauds  and  carelessness  in  the  preparation 
of  the  chps  for  market,  has  hurt  the  good  name  of  Ohio  wool. 
Michigan  an  I  Wisconsin  fleece,  long  holding  the  second  rank, 
is  now  pressing  for  admission  to  the  first. 

In  this  region,  wool  holds  precedence  over  multon.  Hay, 
principally  timothy,  some  clover,  red-top,  blue-grass,  with  corn, 
oats,  and  bran  constitute  the  staple  feed.  Some  careful  flock- 
masters  grow  turnips  and  fodder-corn  for  breeding  ewes,  but  a 
vast  majority  depend  on  bran  and  clover-hay  for  a  laxative. 
Shelled  corn  is  the  principal  grain-feed  for  fattening  wethers, 
while  the  favorite  ration  for  lambs  and  tegs  is  com,  oats  and 
bran,  mixed  in  about  equal  proportions.  Mutton  wethers  are 
shorn  unwashed  in  March,  April  or  May,  sold  at  four  dollars 
and  twent3''-five  cents  to  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  hundred, 
and  shipped  East.  Many  young  ewes  are  sent  West  to  found 
new  flocks  ;  oldish  ones  to  the  East,  for  the  use  above  men- 
tioned. The  flocks  are  washed  the  latter  part  of  May,  shorn 
about  two  weeks  later,  and  the  wool  sold  to  agents,  who  gener- 
ally receive  one  cent  a  pound  commission. 

The  Prairie  Region. — This  cannot  be  termed  a  good  section 
for  the  Merino  ;  there  are  some  fine  flocks  in  Northern  Missouri, 
Wisconsin,  Indiana,  and  especially  Kansas  ;  but  the  English 
long-wools  are  less  subject  to  that  plague  of  the  country — the 
foot-rot.  Nor  is  the  sheep  generally  well  treated  in  this  region. 
Almost  a?;  soon  as  one  leaves  Indiana,  going  west,  he  begins  to 
soe  all  kinds  of  stock  in  the  r.amc  field,  which  is  largo,  however, 


FOE   WOOL   AK"D   MUTTOIS".  215 

owing  to  the  scarcity  of  fencing;.  In  hard  winters,  thousands 
of  sheep  are  driven  east  from  the  plains  to  the  cheap  corn  of 
Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Iowa,  which  is  given  to  them  in  the  ear, 
on  the  ground,  in  a  wasteful  manner ;  or  they  are  allowed  to 
enter  the  standing  grain  itself.  In  Minnesota  they  winter  well 
on  clover-hay,  alone  ;  or  prairie  hay  and  corn.  In  Nebraska 
the  maximum  cost  of  keeping  a  sheep  a  year  is  one  dollar  ;  from 
that  down  to  sixty-five  cents.  Twelve  tons  of  prairie  hay,  cost- 
ing twenty-eight  dollars  and  twenty  cents,  and  two  hundred 
bushels  of  corn,  worth  thirty  to  fifty  dollars,  will  winter  one 
hundred  sheep.  A  shed  and  racks  of  pine  for  one  thousand 
sheep  will  cost  five  hundred  dollars  ;  a  "  Kansas  shed  "  of  poles, 
hay,  sorghum  stalks,  etc.,  costs  only  a  trifie. 

Prairie  Wool. — The  following  schedule  of  prices  will  show 
about  how  the  wools  of  the  prairie  region  are  valued  (bright  and 
dark) : 

Bright  Wools  from  Wisconsin,   Michigan,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Indiana  and  Eastern  Iowa. 

WASHED. 

Fine 27  @  29 

Mf  dium 29  @  31 

Quarier  Blood 27  @  28 

Coarse 24  @  25 

Cotted  and  Rough 21  @  22 

UNWASHED. 

Fine  Light 18  @  19 

Fine  Heavy 16  @  17 

Mediam 22  @  23 

Quarter  Blood 20  @  21 

Coarse 16  @  13 

Cotted  and  Rough 12  @  13 

Dark  Wools  from  Western  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Dakota,  Min- 
nesota AND  Kansas. 

WASHED. 

Fine 25@26 

Medium 27  @  28 

Quarter  Blood 25  @  23 

Coarse 22  (a)  24- 

Cotted  and  Rough 19  @  20 

LTiWASHED. 

Fine  Light 15  @  10 

Fine  Heavy 13  (a  15 

Medium 17  {o.  20 

Quarter  Blood 16  (a)  IS 

Coarse 16  (a)  17 

Cotted  and  Rouijh 11  (a)  12 


(( 


Stalk  Pasture." — Sometimes  a  field  of  com  is  planted  too 
late,  or  for  some  other  reason  dees  not  fully  mature,  but  makes 


216  THE   AMERICAN"   MERIXO 

what  is  popularly  called  "  mutton  com."  The  sheep  are  turned 
into  it  when  the  grass  pastures  fail,  in  the  fall,  and  are  kept  on 
it  throughout  the  winter,  or  until  it  is  consumed.  Sometimes, 
in  a  good  field  of  corn,  the  ears  are  "  snapped  "  or  pulled  oH  the 
stalks  and  hauled  out  in  wagons,  the  stalks  being  left  standing. 
Sheep  are  turned  into  the  field  to  harvest  the  imperfect  ears  and 
the  foliage,  and  are  herded  on  a  limited  area  during  the  day 
(about  an  acre  per  day  sufifices  for  thi-ee  hundred  head,  when 
the  stalks  have  been  gleaned  ordinarily  clean) ;  so  going  over 
the  field,  after  which  they  are  allowed  to  run  at  will,  and  re- 
ceive a  started  ration  of  shelled  or  ear-corn  and  prairie  hay  until 
the  stalks  are  pulled  down  and  stripped  clean,  when  the  flock  is 
removed  to  another  field.  Of  course,  it  is  only  the  stronger  and 
hardier  sheep  that  can  "  rough  it"  in  this  fashion  ;  the  weak- 
lings should  be  removed  and  fed  in  the  regular  way.  In  South 
Kansas  the  cost  of  wintering  a  sheep  this  way  is  estimated  at 
sixty  to  seventy-five  cents. 

Other  Feeds. — In  the  latitude  of  South  Kansas  it  is  estimated 
by  an  experienced  shepherd  that  the  natural  grass  will  supply 
half  the  feed  required  by  the  sheep  throuzb  the  winter.  It  is 
very  natritious  and  fattens  stock  rapidly  when  it  is  young  and 
tender,  but  it  soon  becomes  tough  and  sheep  do  not  relish  it 
unless  it  is  closely  grazed  ;  and  at  best  it  is  pretty  much  done 
for  by  the  frost  as  early  as  November  1st.  There  are  very  few 
kinds  of  hay  that  sheep  will  eat  better  than  early-cut  prairie 
hay  ;  but  it  alone  is  too  binding.  One  ton  is  allowed  to  fifteen 
sheep. 

One  of  the  best  dry  fodders  is  sorghum,  of  which  sheep  are 
very  fond ;  besides  which  it  \'ields  more  to  the  acre  than  any 
other  forage  plant.  Sometimes  it  is  cut  and  cured  in  shocks 
like  corn,  sometimes  left  standing  in  the  field  ;  in  either  form 
it  is  highly  relished  by  the  flocks.  The  seed  is  similar,  accord- 
ing to  analysis,  to  corn.  Rice  corn  or  Egyptian  corn  (another 
variety  of  sorghum)  is  considered  second  best.  Millet  rants 
third.  In  Kansas  are  seen  many  large  fields  of  broom-corn,  the 
leaves  and  stalks  of  which  are  very  fair  feed  in  autumn.  Both 
sorghum  and  rice  corn  endure  the  drought  better  than  Indian 
corn,  and  are  highly  prized  in  the  semi-arid  regions  for  that 
reason.  Half  a  bushel  of  rice  com,  or  Indian  corn,  or  millet 
seed,  per  hundred  head,  with  millet  or  sorghum,  are  considered 
a  fair  allowance  for  ordinary  winters. 

Tlie  Beard  grasses  or  Broom  grasses  {Andropogon  furcatus  and 
scopanus)  are  estimated  to  furnish  sixty  percent,  of  the  i^rasses 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON.  217 

of  the  plains.  The  distinctive  feature  of  prairie  haying  is  the 
"buck-rake"  or  "go-devil."  The  teeth,  like  those  of  a  large 
horse-rake,  are  about  one  foot  apart.  It  is  capable  of  hauling 
half  a  wagon-load  on  the  ground.  Some  farmers  drag  a  vast 
mass  together,  driving  the  horses  over  it  as  long  as  they  can 
and  dumping  ;  then  tear  out  around  the  bottom  with  pitch- 
forks, top  it  out  in  some  fashion,  and  call  it  a  stack  or  rick. 

General  Management. — In  the  eastern  half  of  the  prairie 
section  the  agricultural  system  of  the  Eastern  States  prevails, 
but  in  the  western  half  there  is  a  gradual  shading  away  to  the 
free-ranging  system  of  the  Far  West.  Even  in  the  agricultural 
section,  a  great  deal  of  trouble  is  experienced  by  the  flock-mas- 
ters in  providing  water  for  their  sheep,  both  summer  and  win- 
ter. They  are,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  compelled  to  dig  or  bore 
for  it,  and  then,  perhaps,  draw  up  the  water  by  hoi-se-power  or 
erect  a  wind-mill ;  and  the  violent  winds  (erroneously  called 
"cyclones")  often  blow  these  down  or  damage  them,  or  the 
severe  weather  of  winter  freezes  them  up.  It  is  not  an  uncom- 
mon occurrence  to  see  the  farmer  in  the  dead  of  winter  driving 
his  flocks  some  miles  to  water,  or,  perhaps,  hauling  it  for  them 
with  a  wagon.  One,  for  instance,  in  Southern  Kansas  discov- 
ered, by  several  weeks'  observation,  that  his  flock  of  six  hundred 
head  would  drink  about  four  barrels  of  river-water  daily.  But 
there  is  one  compensation,  and  that  is  the  facility  with  which 
immense  stock-cisterns  can  be  dug  and  plastered  directly  on  the 
rich,  black  prairie  mold  or  on  the  yellow  underlying  "loess." 
The  scarcity  of  lumber  also  tempts  the  flock-master  to  attempt 
to  winter  his  flock  witli  too  little  protection,  or  underneath  a 
wretched  straw  or  sorghum  shed.  Though  the  winters  in  the 
western  section  are  comparatively  dry,  yet  there  is  an  occasional 
flood  of  waters,  and  then  the  flocks,  sometimes  compelled  to 
share  the  same  enclosure  with  cattle,  are  frequently  seen  stand- 
mg  or  wadmg  about  in  woful  fashion  in  deep  mud  and  water, 
which  is  productive  of  foot-rot  and  a  malady  sometimes  taken 
for  foot-and-mouth  disease. 

In  "Minnesota,  sheep  are  generally  very  healthy,  witli  a  slight 
exception  of  scab  ;  in  the  rest  of  the  prairie  section  the  same 
general  statement  may  be  made,  with  the  exception  of  foot-rot ; 
but  this  exception  is  so  important  that  it  constitutes  a  serious 
drawback,  almost  an  estopper,  to  the  growing  of  the  Merino. 
There  are  fine,  rolling  belts,  as  in  North  Missouri,  Wisconsin, 
Southern  and  Central  Illinois,  where  the  bettor  drainage,  and 
the  presence  of  sand  in  the  soil,  exempt  the  floclis,  more  or  less, 


218  THE   AlkrERICAN    MERIXO 

from  this  great  pest ;  but  wherever  the  black,  waxy  ''gumbo" 
prevails,  even  if  the  surface  is  roiling,  the  foot-rot  is  so  bad  that 
half  the  flock  will  sometimes  be  seen  limping,  and  a  large  per- 
centage grazing  around  on  their  knees.  Pellets  of  the  ' '  gumbo  " 
soil  harden  between  the  segments  of  the  hoof,  rendering  the 
sheep  lame  ;  and  the  shepherd  has  to  catch  them  and  remove 
the  lumps.  This  trouble  occurs  in  flocks  as  far  west  and  north 
as  Central  Dakota. 

In  all  this  region  the  general  preference  is  to  have  lambing 
come  on  grass.  Even  in  Southern  Kansas  the  most  experienced 
shepherds  do  not  care  to  have  lambs  before  April  25th,  though 
some  begin  as  eaiiy  as  April  10th.  When  lambs  are  weaned 
they  frequently  receive  oats  at  the  rate  of  a  bushel  to  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  head  ;  when  winter  comes  on  a  bushel  is  given  to 
two  hundred  head,  together  with  fine  millet  or  prairie  hay ;  or 
they  are  turned  into  the  stalk  pasture.  In  Iowa,  and  northward, 
blue  grass  is  becoming  the  main  dependence  for  pasture,  while 
timothy  is  grown  for  hay  much  more  than  in  Kansas. 

The  la^tter  State  has  some  choice  flocks  of  Merinos.  In  Green- 
wood County,  for  instance,  Mr.  Robert  Lay  has  a  flock  of  over 
one  thousand,  which  in  1884  yielded  an  average  of  eleven  pounds 
of  wool  per  head  ;  and  that  of  Mr.  C.  T.  C.  White,  numbering 
over  one  thousand,  of  which  ninety  per  cent,  are  ewes,  yielded 
over  ten  pounds  per  head  of  white  delaine  wool. 

The  Southern  States. — In  the  greater  part  of  the  South,  sheep 
husbandry  is  conducted  strictly  on  the  laissez  faire  principle — 
the  shee])  take  care  of  themselves,  except  when  wanted  by  their 
owners  for  the  yearly  "  wool-gathering"  and  for  marking.  The 
fact  that  they  continue  to  exist  at  all,  and  even  to  increase — 
despite  the  ravages  of  darkies,  dogs  and  buffalo-gnats — is  infi- 
nitely to  their  credit  and  to  the  credit  of  the  natural  resources 
of  that  sunny  land  where  the  snow  spirit  never  comes,  and 
where  spring  flings  hei  flowers  into  the  lap  of  winter. 

"ColonelJ.  W.  Watts,  of  Martin's  Depot,  Laurens  County, 
South  Carohna,  a  life-long  breeder  of  sheep,  after  testing,  in 
South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Texas,  six  different  breeds,  settled 
do\\Ti  upon  the  Merino  for  wool  and  the  African  Broad-tail  for 
mutton.  He  found  the  actual  cost  of  keeping  a  sheep  to  be 
sixty  cents  per  year ;  and,  after  balancing  the  lambs  and  the 
manure  against  the  expense,  he  found  the  fleece  to  be  clear 
profit.  Thi>;,  at  seven  pounds  of  unwashed  wool  (from  full- 
bloods),  selling  at  twenty-two  cents  (m  1877),  would  amount  to 
one  dollar  and  fiity-four  cents  per  bead.     The  average  number 


FOR   WOOL   AJ^D   MUTTOI^.  219 

of  lambs  raised  from  the  Merinos  he  placed  at  eighty  per  cent. 
His  pasture  was  broom-sedge  and  Japan  clover  {Lespedeza  stri- 
ata) mitn  after  harvest,  then  he  gave  them  the  run  of  the  grain- 
fields.  For  winter  pasturage  he  usuaUy  sowed  rye  for  the  ewes 
and  lambs,  and  gave  all  the  flocks  the  run  of  oats  sown  in  Au- 
gust and  September  ;  also  allowed  them  the  range  of  the  corn- 
fields and  cotton-fields.  As  a  mixed  feed  he  found  cotton-seed 
wholesome,  economical  and  profitable.  His  sheep  were  very 
fond  of  it ;  after  feeding  on  green  barley  all  day  they  would  eat 
it  with  great  relish.  Some  feed  was  needed  for  three  months, 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  cultivated  grasses.  Sheep  were 
very  healthy  in  his  section. 

"He  housed  the  flocks  in  winter  and  littered  the  stalls  fre- 
quently ;  the  manure  thus  collected  he  sowed  broadcast  or  in 
drills,  in  July  or  August,  for  ruta-bagas.  In  the  summer  he 
used  the  Ruchmau  portable  fence,  and  kept  at  the  rate  of  one 
thousand  slieep  to  the  acre  a  week.  The  value  of  the  manure 
thus  deposited  ho  regai'dcd  equdl  to  about  four  hundred  pounds 
of  guano  the  first  year,  and  its  effects  were  perceptible  for  sev- 
eral years  afterwards. 

*'  He  found  the  sheep  great  helps  to  the  farmer  in  eradicating 
weeds — as,  for  instance,  the  cockle-bur,  and,  in  fact,  nearly  all 
useless  f)lants." — [Letter  to  Hon.  John  L.  Hayes.] 

"  Richard  Peters, Esq., of  Atlanta, Georgia,  tested  nine  different 
breeds  and  crosses  between  many  of  them,  and  settled  down  on 
thoroughbred  Merinos  and  Cotswolds,  with  crosses  between  the 
two.  For  a  general  purpose  sheep  he  recommended,  most  de- 
cidedly, a  cross  between  the  full-blooded  Merino  and  the  native. 
Like  Colonel  Watts,  he  found  the  fleece  clear  profit,  and  he 
estimated  it  at  the  same  weight. 

"When  the  winter  was  mild  he  found  the  flocks  needed 
feed  about  thirty  days ;  if  cold  and  wet,  twice  that  time. 
In  North  Georgia  the  pasturage  consisted  of  sedge,  crab  and 
other  native  grasses  ;  of  the  cultivated  grasses,  orchard  gi'ass 
and  red  and  white  clover  succeeded  on  uplands,  and  redtop 
on  lowlands.  Lucern  and  German  millet  were  cut  for  hay  ; 
and  for  winter  pasture,  the  red,  nist-proof  oats  (sown  in  Sep- 
tember), also  barley,  rye  and  wheat  could  be  grazed  during  the 
winter  and  early  spring  and  then  yield  a  crop  of  gi-ain. 

"In  North  Georgia  the  system  of  sheep  husbandly  prevailing 
in  Ohio  would  be  apphcable  ;  in  Middle  Georgia,  that  of  Ken- 


220  THE    A.MERICAN   MERINO 

tucky  ;  in  South  Georgia,  that  of  Texas  and  Cahfomia,  with 
shepherd  dogs,  etc." — [Letter  to  Hon.  John  L.  Hayes.] 

In  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States  lambing  is  expected  in 
January,  and  the  lambs  coming  thus  early  are  usually  more 
thrifty  than  those  coming  later.  The  farmer  helps  himself  to 
the  wethers  at  various  ages,  and  sells  the  small  surplus  to  local 
butchers  or  for  shipment  to  Richmond,  Washington  and  Balti- 
more, where  they  arrive  before  the  Northern  grain-fed  mutton. 
The  ewes  are  generally  kex)t  until  they  die  of  old  age,  disease  or 
dogs. 

Wool  is  generally  shorn  unwashed  in  April,  and  the  most  of 
it  is  sold  to  Jews  ;  but  of  late  years  some  shipments  to  Boston 
and  Philadelphia  have  realized  better  profits  and  led  the  way 
for  further  ventures  in  this  direction. 

Our  Northern  flock-masters  are  accustomed  to  give  out  cotton- 
seed with  timidity  and  caution,  but  in  the  South  the  planters 
who  feed  their  sheep  at  all,  not  unf requently  pour  it  into  the 
troughs  ad  libitum,  and  the  sheep  help  themselves  without  stint 
and  without  injury.  In  Tennessee  five  bushels  of  cotton-seed 
to  the  head  have  been  given,  during  the  winter,  to  a  flock  of 
half-bloods  (Merino  and  Southdown).  In  Navarro  County, 
Texas,  one  hundred  pounds  of  hay  and  a  bushel  of  cotton-seed 
per  head  are  provided  as  a  winter  store.  In  Duplin  County, 
North  Carolina,  twenty  sheep  received,  during  January  and 
Febi-uary,  a  bushel  of  pea-hulls  and  two  ears  of  corn  per  day. 
In  Arkansas  County,  Arkansas,  two  pounds  of  cotton-seed  per 
day  have  been  given  to  breeding  ewes. 

In  the  piney  woods,  sheep  do  not  subsist  to  any  considerable 
extent  on  the  coarse  grasses,  but  on  herbs,  "mainly  upon  one 
smaU  perennial  herb,  growing  flat  on  the  ground,  with  broad 
and  rounded  leaves,  resembling  veiy  much  the  deer-tongue 
(vanilla),""  (Liatris  odoratissima).  In  Bradford  CountN^  Florida, 
as  I  have  myself  observed,  they  avoid  the  grasses  of  the  "  flat- 
woods,"  which  are  almost  as  coarse  and  jejune  as  the  pine  leaves 
overhead,  and  select  the  smut  grass  {3Ianis7iris  granularis), 
Bermuda  grass,  crow-foot  and  crab-grass,  besides  lierbs.  All 
these  four  last  named  follow  cultivation.  In  Eastern  Texas, 
Louisiana  and  Florida  sheep  are  exceedingly  fond  of  the  seed  of 
the  beggar  lice.  Guinea  grass  {SorgJium  Jtahtjicnsc)  has  become 
acclimated  ;  in  winter  it  dies  down,  but  sheep  find,  deep  down 
under  the  debris,  a  sweet  and  tender  bite,  and  thev  mav  be  seen 
buried  to  the  shoulders  searching  for  it.     In  winter  they  will 


FOR  WOOL   AXD   MUTTOJs^  221 

penetrate  the  recesses  of  the  canebreak,  and  they  often  have  to 
be  confined  to  the  fields  to  prevent  the  lambs  from  drowning  in 
the  low,  flat  woods. 

But  in  wuitar  tbey  need  some  provision  of  cultivated  grasses 
or  rye,  or  oats.  The  wonderful  Bermuda — the  pest  of  the  cot- 
ton-planter, who  is  all  his  li^e  "  fighting  General  Green" — is  in 
reahty  one  of  the  greatest  economic  blessings  ever  vouchsafed 
to  the  South.  Dr.  St.  Julian  Ravenel,  of  Charleston,  South  Car- 
olina, regards  it  as  superior  in  value  to  timothy  ;  his  analysis 
gives  it  fourteen  per  cent,  of  albuminoids.  Dr.  D.  L.  Phares  has 
demonstrated  that  red  clover  will  grow  in  Mississippi,  and  I  have 
myself  seen  both  red  and  white  flourishing,  self-seeded,  in  the 
orange  groves  of  Bradford  County,  Florida.  Paspalum  platy- 
caule,  also  called  P.  compressum,  is  another  great  favorite  of  the 
sheep  ;  it  will  travel  miles  m  search  of  it.  The  Japan  clover  or 
bush  clover  has  been  mentioned  above.  All  these  can  be  propa- 
gated by  cultivation,  and  are  excellent  for  sheep.  According 
to  Dr.  Phares,  Japan  clover  contains  15.11  per  cent,  of  albumi- 
noids and  56.79  per  cent,  of  carbohydrates,  which  makes  it  about 
equal  to  timothy. 

In  1879  the  Department  of  Agriculture  sent  out  to  hundreds 
of  correspondents  in  the  South  a  series  of  questions  directed  to 
the  following  points  : 

1.  Proportion  (percentage)  of  surface,  exclusive  of  area  actu- 
ally cultivated,  yielding  grasses  suitable  for  pasturage  for  sheep. 

2.  Average  number  of  sheep  such  pasturage  is  capable  of 
sustaining  during  the  summer  months. 

3.  Average  number  one  hundi'ed  acres  would  sustain  in  winter. 

4.  Number  of  months  in  winter  in  which  some  extra  feed  is 
required. 

5.  Average  weight  of  fleece  in  annual  shearing. 

6.  Average  value  of  fleece  per  pound. 

7.  Average  number  of  lambs  from  one  hundred  ewes. 

8.  Average  percentage  of  lambs  lost  by  disowning,  exposure 
or  other  causes. 

9.  Percentage  of  sheep  (exclusive  of  lambs)  lost  annually  by 
disease,  theft,  dogs,  wolves,  or  other  causes. 

10.  Percentage  of  sheep  destroyed  by  dogs  alone. 

These  returns,  carefully  tabulated,  after  the  correction  of  ob- 
vious errors  and  the  elimination  of  estimates  not  bearing  the  im- 
press of  accuracy  of  judgment — inevitable  blemishes  of  general 


222 


THE   AMERICAN    MERINO 


returns  upon  industries  that  are  either  new  or  of  minor  magni- 
tude— present  the  following  average  results  in  tabulation  : 


STATES. 


Delaware 

Maryland  

Virginia 

West  Virginia.. 
North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina  . 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas    

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Missouri 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10 

50 

20 

4 

3.9 

28 

92 

19 

8 

25 

47 

19 

4 

3.7 

28 

95 

20 

10 

42 

55 

22 

3.5 

3.3 

27 

95 

19 

12  i 

50 

CO 

20 

4 

3.7 

32 

90 

16 

10 

52 

53 

23. 

3 

3 

26 

90 

20 

13 

50 

50 

22 

3 

2.9 

25 

91 

21 

15 

55 

55 

25 

3 

2.9 

27 

93 

20 

14 

60 

50 

22 

2.5 

2.7 

23 

89 

22 

18 

57 

55 

24 

3 

2.8 

26 

96 

23 

13 

50 

60 

25 

3 

2.9 

25 

92 

22 

14 

45 

70 

30 

2.5 

3.2 

22 

95 

20 

11 

75 

70 

33 

2.5 

3.5 

21 

90 

15 

9 

65 

60 

30 

3.2 

3 

27 

94 

18 

12 

45 

62 

27 

4 

2.9 

31 

90 

20 

13 

40 

90 

29 

4.2 

4 

31 

97 

21 

9 

42 

80 

28 

4.2 

3.5 

28 

95 

23 

11 

10. 


4 
7 

6.5 
4.5 

6 

8 
8 
8 
7 
8 
5 
4 
7 
6 
4 
6 


Column  5  shows  how  the  influence  of  the  Merino  constantly 
diminishes  as  we  go  South  ;  and  columns  8,  9  and  10  show  the 
hopelessness  of  sheep  husbandry  in  that  section  until  better 
management  and  better  dog  laws  prevail. 


CHAPTEE    XXIII. 
SYSTEMS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  Continued. 

Texas— Historical.— The  substratum  of  the  sheep  of  Texas, 
to-day,  is  the  Mexican  native,  which  is  descended  from  the 
Chourro  of  the  Basque  Provinces.  The  introducer  of  the  Meri- 
nos was  George  W.  Kendall,  founder  of  the  New  Orleans  Pica- 
yune, who  established  his  celebrated  farm  in  Comal  County  in 
1852.  Besides  Mr.  Kendall,  may  be  mentioned  Captain  Allison 
Nelson,  of  Bosque  County  ;  Mr.  W.  R.  Kellum,  of  McLennan 
County  ;  Mr.  F.  W.  Shaeffer,  of  Nueces  Coimty ;  Mr.  H.  J. 
Chamberlin,  of  Milam  County  ;  and  others. 

The  Chourros  were  long,  lank  and  light,  producing  only  one 
and  a  half  or  two  pounds  per  head  of  a  coarse,  dry.  white, 
strong  wool,  suitable  for  carpets.    Being  neglected,  they  had 


FOR  WOOL  a:sd  mutton^.  223 

not  increased  much  up  to  the  advent  of  IV.'  r.  Kendall,  but  their 
hard  life  had  developed  a  toughness  which  it  was  Mr,  Kendall's 
happy  conception  to  take  advantage  of  and  engraft  upon  it  the 
incomparable  fleece  of  the  American  Merino.  After  that  date, 
sheep  increased  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  especially  in  West- 
em  and  Southern  Texas.  It  is  useless  to  cite  statistics,  on  ac- 
count of  the  imperfect  returns  made  of  those  nomadic  flocks. 

Range  and  Pasture.— In  Eastern  Texas  north  of  the  Nueces, 
embracing  about  one  half  of  the  available  pasture  area  of  the 
State,  there  is  an  agricultural  system  very  much  like  that  of  the 
Gulf  States  generally,  with  the  same  native  and  cultivated 
grasses,  supplemented  more  and  more  as  we  go  west  by  the 
mesquite,  the  grama  and  other  grasses  of  extreme  sections. 

South  of  the  Nueces  are  the  great  wool  counties,  Webb,  Du- 
val, Nueces,  Starr  and  Encinal.  Everywhere  on  the  alluvial 
soil  is  the  mesquite;  on  the  coast,  the  sage  and  salt  grasses  ;  with 
some  grama  in  the  west,  increasing  as  we  go  to  the  northwest 
— all  excellent  for  sheep  ;  the  grama  easily  first,  because  it  re- 
sists the  droughts  so  conimon  in  this  region.  Stock  are  often 
watered  from  wells,  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet  deep. 

Along  the  Pecos  and  west,  is  a  vast  desert  where  even  the  an- 
telope is  sometimes  hard-pushed  for  water.  Close  along  the 
Pecos  and  Rio  Grande  there  are  strips  of  good  grass  ;  also  ten 
or  fifteen  miles  back — but  no  surface  water.  The  pods  of  the 
mesquite  tree  come  in  early  autumn,  as  fattening  as  corn  ;  then 
there  are  the  grama,  the  mesquite  and  the  buffalo  grasses — all 
wdth  different  varieties — with  the  black  grama  prevailing  on 
the  Rio  Grande.  Water  is  in  springs,  ponds  and  holes,  of  which 
only  a  few  last  through  hot  weather. 

Between  the  100th  meridian  and  the  Pecos,  besides  the  above, 
is  the  juahia,  eagerly  sought  by  sheep  in  the  spring,  when  it 
furnishes  a  juice  of  the  color  and  taste  of  milk  ;  the  sotdl,  like 
the  Spanish  bayonet,  of  which  the  shepherd  cuts  off  the  top  of 
thoi-ns  with  his  machete  (knife),  allowing  his  flock  to  eat  the 
juicy  interior,  which  is  very  fattening ;  the  nopal  cactus,  on 
which,  with  the  sotal,  sheep  will  go  without  water  for  many 
days  ;  the  saladio,  the  baradulcia,  or  greasewood,  extremely 
palatable  and  nutritious  to  stock  in  winter ;  and  many  other 
valuable  herbs  and  bushes. 

In  the  Panhandle  the  pasture  is  mostly  too  coarse  for  sheep, 
besides  which  there  is  found  the  poisonous  '•  loco,"  which  pro- 
duces insanity,  strange,  fantastic  capers,  and  lingering  death. 


224  THE   AMERICA?^   3IERI]S^0 

General  Managejvient. — The  most  progressive  owners  are 
fencing  their  ranges  with  wire,  to  prevent  quarrels  between 
their  shepherds  and  neighboring  cattle-men.  Where  herding  is 
followed,  the  flock  is  generally  reduced  to  about  eleven  hundred  ; 
smaller  flocks  would  do  better,  but  would  increase  the  expense 
of  herding.  Ewes  and  lambs  are  kept  by  themselves,  leaving 
barren  ewes  and  wethers — locally  called  "muttons" — to  be 
herded  together  in  "dry  flocks."  The  corral  is  a  simple  circle 
of  brushwood  or  a  wattled  fence  ;  hard  by  stands  the  hut  of 
the  shepherd ;  both  being  generally  on  the  southern  slope  of 
some  knoll  or  creek,  or  on  the  south  side  of  a  cedar-brake,  for 
protection  against  the  northers. 

The  shepherd  must  rise  early  to  give  his  charge  the  benefit  of 
all  the  daylight  hours.  After  his  breakfast  of  mutton  (goats  are 
kept  with  the  flocks  to  furnish  this,  where  the  shepherd  is  a 
a  Mexican),  pancakes  and  coffee,  he  opens  the  corral,  if  it  is 
hot  weather  the  sheep  saunter  out  leisurely,  but  if  it  is  chilly 
and  wet  they  move  away  more  briskly,  and  then  the  shepherd 
frequently,  instead  of  following  after,  goes  before,  circling  to 
right  and  left,  to  restrain  their  movements. 

It  depends  a  good  deal  on  the  disposition  of  the  man  whether 
or  not  he  is  allowed  to  have  the  assistance  of  a  shepherd  dog.  If 
he  is  lazy  and  dishonest  he  can  make  the  dog  huddle  them,  while 
he  sleeps  or  dawdles  away  his  time,  and  the  sheep  go  hungry. 
Besides  tliat,  an  ambitious  dog  is  apt  to  "circle  "  them  too  much, 
of  his  own  accord,  thus  curtailing  tbeu'  feed  ;  and  it  is  highly 
necessary  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  "take  a  spread"  in 
order  to  fill  themselves.  Range  sheep  should  be  kept  fat  by  ail 
means  ;  a  poor  animal  will  go  down  in  a  storm  and  get  up  no 
more.  A  cur  dog  is  sometimes  employed  ;  having  been  suckled 
by  a  goat  it  lingers  with  the  flock  and  will  frighten  away  wild 
animals. 

The  flocks  occupy  the  winter  range  from  December  until 
shearing  time,  and  the  summer  pasture  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  The  winter  range  is  selected  with  reference  to  its  resources 
for  protection  against  storms. 

Rams  (generally  full-blood  or  high-grade  Merinos  bought  in 
the  North)  are  kept  by  themselves  ;  they  are  given  extra  feeds 
of  oats,  cotton-seed  or  corn  for  a  few  weeks  before  service  be- 
gins ;  then  about  the  middle  of  September  they  are  turned,  with 
the  ewes — three  to  every  hundred — in  the  corral  during  the 
night,  and  removed  through  the  day,  or  vice  versa.     The  coup- 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTOX.  225 

ling  season  lasts  six  or  eight  weeks  ;  after  it  is  closed  the  rams 
still  receive  daily  feeds  of  grain  for  some  weeks. 

The  sheep  are  now  put  on  the  winter  ranges,  which  ai'^  gen- 
erally near  the  ranch  headquarters.  Sometimes  a  shed  is  pro- 
vided here  for  a  smaU  flock  of  crones  and  w(^aklings,  and  for  the 
rams.  The  shortness  of  the  davs  and  the  scarcity  of  herbas-e 
now  compel  the  shepherd  to  rise  veiy  early  and  to  keep  his  flock 
out  as  long  as  daylight  lasts.  About  once  a  week  they  are  salted 
— say  five  gallons  of  salt  to  the  thousand  head,  perhaps  with  a 
few  pounds  of  ashes  and  sulphur  mixed.  If  the  sheep  have  grub 
in  the  head  some  shepherds  mix  with  the  salt  a  few  pints  of 
soot.     Salt  is  not  required  on  the  coast  or  with  mesquite  grass. 

Lambing. — This  comes  on  about  February  15th.  Tavo  or  three 
extra  men  to  each  flock  of  ewes  are  hired  to  assist  the  regular  shep- 
herd. Some  small  brush-pens  are  built  near  the  corral  for  ewes 
disowning  their  lambs.  In  the  morning  when  the  ewes  are  let 
out  of  the  corral  they  are  restrained  near  by  until  aU  the  newly 
dropped  lambs  and  their  mothers  can  be  discovered,  collected 
and  removed  to  a  separate  flock.  During  the  day  the  men  are 
busy  working  homeward  the  lambs  dropped  on  the  range,  fre- 
quently carrying  in  each  hand  three  or  four  by  the  forelegs, 
stopping  occasionally  to  let  the  ewes  come  up  and  smell  them. 

Soon  there  are  three  flocks  ;  the  main  one  ;  a  second,  with 
lambs  a  week  old  and  upward;  a  third,  with  the  youngest  lambs. 
As  fast  as  the  lambs  are  transferred  from  the  youngest  flock  to 
the  older  one  they  are  marked,  docked  and  castrated. 

Shearing.— About  April  loth  or  May  1st,  in  South  Texas, 
shearing  begins;  the  dry  flocks  are  shorn  first,  the  suckling 
ewes  last,  to  avoid  loss  of  increase  likely  to  ensue  if  the  ewes 
and  lambs  are  disturbed  and  separated  too  early.  The  shearing 
is  generally  done  by  Mexicans,  who  receive  three  and  a  half  to 
four  cents  a  fleece.  A  covered  platform  is  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  on  this  the  sheep  are  thrown  down,  tied  (about  ten  at 
a  time)  and  shorn,  while  the  flock-master  and  his  assistants  are 
busy  receiving,  tallying,  tying  up  and  sacking  the  fleeces. 

South  of  San  Antonio  semi-annual  shearings  generally  pre- 
vail; m  the  spring,  extending  from  Februaiy  to  May  1st ;  in  the 
fall,  in  September  and  October.  North  of  San  Antonio  annual 
shearings  are  the  practice.  The  spring-cut  fleeces  are  tied  up  ; 
the  fall-2ut  are  bagged  without  tying,  being  light.  This  latter 
practice,  of  course,  operates  against  the  grower,  since  it  causes 
to  be  min,i;led  together  all  parts  of  the  fleece,  which  are  graded 
by  the  buyer  about  on  a  level  with  the  lowest. 


226  THE  AMERICA]!^   MERINO 

Semi-annual  shearings  have  their  disadvantages  as  well  as  ad- 
vantages. They  cut  the  vrool  shorter  and  therefore  make  it 
worth  from  three  to  five  cents  less  per  pound — since  the  wools 
of  Texas,  if  suffered  to  grow  a  year,  would  often  be  long  enough 
for  combing  purposes — and  they  double  the  expense.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  are  very  beneficial  to  sheep,  especially  lambs, 
in  that  hot  chmate,  promoting  their  health  and  condition  ;  they 
afford  the  shepherd  a  better  opportunity  to  hold  in  check  and 
eradicate  the  scab.  They  also  put  money  in  the  shepherd's 
pocket  twice  a  year,  which  is  an  object  in  a  State  where  the 
merchant  is  frequently  asked  to  advance  money  on  fleeces  still 
on  the  sheeps'  backs. 

Pasturage. — A  great  point  of  superiority  in  the  Texas  grasses 
over  those  of  California  is,  that  the  former  are  perennial,  and 
therefore  do  not  suffer  particularly  if  their  seeds  are  consumed. 
Though  they  may  seem  to  be  dead  in  a  drought,  a  rain  will 
soon  freshen  them  up  and  make  them  green  in  the  heart.  While 
cattle  will  not  readily  graze  after  sheep,  the  latter,  by  sharp 
tramping,  close  feeding  and  the  tearing-up  of  grasses  in  a  light 
soil,  destroy  pasture  that  would  support  cattle  a  long  time  ;  but 
where  the  land  is  strong  and  deep,  and  cattle  would  injure  it 
greatly  by  poaching  it  when  muddy,  sheep  are  a  benefit.  Here 
they  do  not  pull  up  the  grass  or  poach  the  mud,  while  their 
light  treading  buries  the  grass-seeds  and  assists  them  to  germi- 
nate, and  they  manure  the  soil. 

The  best  flock-masters  inveigh  strongly  against  the  old,  shift- 
less way  of  allowing  stock  to  go  the  entire  winter  without  arti- 
ficial feed.  Not  only  does  the  short  grass — dead  and  almost 
rotten — produce  intestinal  worms  and  fever,  it  is  claimed,  but 
even  that  fails,  sometimes.  An  abundant  provision  of  water 
should  be  made  by  means  of  wells,  wind-pumps  and  tanks,  for 
if  stock  have  to  wait  long  for  water  the  weakest,  which  can 
least  afford  it,  lose  most  time  in  waiting. 

There  ought  to  be  some  hay,  kept  from  year  to  year,  if  neces- 
saiy ,  and  a  field  of  sorghum  or  guinea  grass,  late-sown,  for  win- 
ter forage.  Cotton-seed  is  excellent.  One  feeder  in  Kendall 
County  reports  that  he  gave  his  "muttons"  six  ounces  of 
shelled  corn  daily  for  three  months,  and  was  well  repaid  by 
the  superior  quality  of  the  mutton. 

Mutton. — The  mesquite  grass  mutton  is  asserted  to  be  the 
best  in  the  State,  destitute  of  the  objectionable  "  sheepy  "  taste, 
and  improving  (?)  with  age  up  to  the  limit  of  five  or  six  years. 


FOR   WOOL  AKD    MUTTON.  227 

It  is  often  a  "burning  question  "  with  the  Texas  flock-master, 
whether  to  ship  his  mutton- wethers  shorn  or  unshorn.  The  loss 
of  the  fleece  destroys  the  plump  appearance,  hence  the  sheep 
needs  to  be  very  fat  in  order  to  endure  this  exposure  and  the 
severe  ordeal  of  the  railroad  journey.  The  Texas  Live  Stock 
Journal  argues  in  favor  of  shearing  generally,  and  makes  this 
statement :  "  We  have  never  known  a  market  butcher  to  pay 
what  we  consider  the  amount  the  fleece  and  carcass  of  a  well 
fleeced  sheep  would  bring  if  separated.  In  these  times,  when 
the  low  prices  on  both  wool  and  mutton  make  it  a  fine  calcula- 
tion, any  man  is  hable  to  make  an  error  in  judgment,  but  if  the 
sheep  are  good  producers  of  wool,  it  is  a  safe  rule  to  get  off  and 
make  sure  of  the  fleece  before  tnisting  the  carcass  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  the    *    *    *    railroad." 

Conservative  flock-masters  wish  to  retain  about  one-eighth  of 
the  Mexican  blood,  to  secure  hardiness  and  fecundity  ;  but  the 
more  progressive  ones  go  on  crossing  without  fear  until  they 
have  practically  full-blood  Merinos  ;  and  their  success  in  breed- 
ing seems  to  sustain  their  position. 

In  Northern  Texas,  south  of  Red  River,  the  average  fleece 
weighs,  for  the  New  Mexican  sheep,  two  and  one-fifth  pounds ; 
for  the  Merino  grade,  four  pounds.  The  New  Mexican  mutton 
sheep  weighs  seventy-five  pounds,  live  weight ;  the  Merino 
grade,  ninety  pounds. 

A  scab-law,  with  enforced  State  inspection  of  flocks,  rigidly 
carried  out,  is  much  needed.  Fencing  affords  partial  protection 
against  scab,  but  not  complete. 

The  Texas  Sheep  in  General.— The  Texas  sheep  is  fighter 
than  it  should  be — probably  averages  the  lightest  of  all  improved 
sheep  in  the  United  States.  Not  to  compare  it  with  Northern 
animals  grown  under  careful  farm  management  —which  would 
be  unjust — let  us  place  it  beside  some  others  which  are  to  be 
found  on  the  great  ranges  of  the  West.  The  French  Merino 
wether  of  California  weighs  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  ; 
the  American,  one  hundred  and  four  pounds  ;  the  Merino  wether 
of  New  Mexico,  one  hundred  and  five  pounds  ;  of  Nevada,  one 
hundred  pounds,  etc.  We  have  seen  above  that  the  Merino 
"mutton "of  Texas  averages  only  ninety  pounds.  Even  the 
French  Merino,  when  brought  from  Cahfomia  to  Western 
Texas,  falls  off ;  the  wether  only  attains  a  weight  of  ninety-five 
or  one  hundred  pounds. 

The  cause  of  this  is  undoubtedly  lack  of  feed.     The  native 


228  THE   AMEKICAN   MERIXO 

grasses  of  Texas  are,  perhaps,  the  most  nutritious  in  the  coun- 
try, yet  the  sheep  feeding  on  them  are  the  smallest  and  their 
fleeces  the  lightest.  It  is  because  of  neglect  on  the  part  of  the 
flock-masters  ;  they  leave  them  to  gain  a  sustenance  wholly  by 
the  process  known  in  the  expressive  local  vernacular  as  "  rus- 
tling." They  have  to  "  rustle  "  through  the  summer's  drought 
and  the  winter's  rain.  Even  where  the  feed  is  abmidant  and 
good  the  flocks  are  frequently  mismanaged  so  that  they  do  not 
obtain  the  full  benefit  of  it.  The  result  of  this  neglect  is  that 
Texas  mutton  and  wool  suffer  when  brought  in  competition  in 
open  market  with  those  products  from  other  Western  States 
and  Territories. 

In  large  flocks,  the  average  increase  is  seventy-five  per  cent, 
of  the  breeding  ewes ;  in  smaller  flocks,  eighty-five  per  cent. 
In  seventy-one  flocks,  aggregating  139,968  head,  one  hundred 
ewes  dropped  eighty- three  lambs  ;  of  these,  63.71  survived  to 
yearlings.  Texas  has  some  really  fine  flocks  ;  for  instance,  that 
of  Hon.  H.  J.  Ghamberhn,  of  Milam  County,  numbering  twelve 
hundred  head,  yielded  in  1884  ten  and  a  half  pounds  of  wool 
per  head,  with  stock  rams  running  from  flfteen  to  thirty-three 
pounds ;  and  all  showing  stout,  compact  carcasses.  Rev.  W. 
H.  Parks,  of  Bosque  Countyj  has  another  choice  flock,  many  of 
his  wethers  at  maturity  weighing  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  ;  while,  as  to  fleeces  he  sold, 
in  1884,  to  Denny,  Rice  &  Co.,  sixty-nine  that  averaged  seven 
pounds  of  scoured  wool  to  the  fleece. 

But  it  is  a  fact  that  a  vast  majority  of  wool-growers  in  Texas 
are  quite  too  negligent  in  this  matter  of  feed  and  care  in  winter 
and  during  droughts.  The  experience  of  flock-masters  in  Crosby 
and  adjoining  counties  in  the  cultivation  of  alfalfa — which  has 
been  found  so  valuable  in  California  and  Colorado — will  be  con- 
ducive to  good  results.  While  alfalfa,  if  injudiciously  given,  is 
sometimes  productive  of  scours,  there  remains  no  doubt  that  it 
is  an  enormc>usly  prolific  plant  in  warm  climates  and  lowlands, 
and  that,  in  the  form  of  well-cured  hay  at  any  rate,  it  is  accept- 
able to  sheep  and  very  fattening,  producing  fine-flavored  mut- 
ton. The  Kansas  experiments  with  sorghum  are  also  very  sug- 
gestive to  the  Texans,  showing  that  it  is  an  excellent  sheep-feed, 
yielding  two  cuttings  a  year  which  aggregate  a  greater  total  of 
feed  than  corn  will  produce. 

The  dead  and  half-rotten  grass  of  winter,  and  the  rank  growth 
of  wet  spells,  produce  worminess  in  the  sheep  and  a  tender, 
brashy  fleece.     The  same  results  were  remai'ked  in  Queensland, 


FOR  WOOL  AXD  MUTTo:&;r.  229 

and  the  Queenslander  reports  an  experiment  which  is  instruc- 
tive to  the  Texas  shepherds:  "One  of  two  young  wethers, 
suffering  from  worms  and  greatly  emaciated,  was  liberally  sup- 
plied with  good  fresh  hay,  with  a  little  bran  at  first.  The  result 
was  that  the  animal  became  perfectly  healthy  and  fat  enough 
to  be  killed  for  mutton.  The  experiment  was  tried  on  a  larger 
scale  during  the  hot  weather  of  December  and  January. 
She€  p  have  been  thriving  and  fattening  on  a  patch  of  lucern 
beside  a  flock  pastured  on  indigenous  grasses  that  was  being 
decimated  by  worms.  The  lucern  was  comparatively  green 
and  succulent.  In  the  other  the  most  nutritious  of  grasses  had 
been  eaten  off  close  to  the  ground." 

Sellman  Bros.,  of  San  Saba  County,  state  that,  of  twelve  hun- 
dred lambs,  they  "  lost  about  sixty  head,  or  five  per  cent.  This 
last  loss  we  richly  deserved,  as  I  think  that  anyone  who  at- 
tempts to  carry  lambs  through  the  first  winter  ^\  ithout  feed 
deserves  to  lose.  Had  we  given  the  money,  that  those  sixty 
head  were  worth,  to  the  flock  in  feed,  I  feel  confident  that  we 
could  have  saved  fifty  of  them  ;  besides,  the  flock  would  have 
clipped  wool  enough  extra  to  have  paid  for  it.  To  verify  this, 
we  have  lost  but  one  out  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  buck 
lambs  which  we  wintered  on  worse  range  than  the  other  herd 
had,  and  gave  less  than  one-fourth  of  a  cent's  worth  of  feed  a 
day  per  head." 

Mr.  E.  A.  Louis,  of  Kendall  County,  fed  his  "muttons,"  the 
past  winter,  six  ounces  of  shelled  corn  per  head  daily.  In  a  let- 
ter to  me,  describing  his  methods,  he  says  :  "I  select  a  smooth, 
liard,  clear  surface  and  place  the  corn  m  small  piles  over  a  large 
area,  and  they  all,  weak  and  strong,  get  their  share,  and  without 
injury  to  the  weaker  ones.  Before  this  I  had  troughs,  but  found 
out  that  the  stronger  ones  crowded  out  the  weaker  ones  and  often 
seriously  injured  them."  Corn  has  formerly  been  ninety  cents 
in  Kendall  County  (the  present  price  is  fifty) ;  but  even  at  the 
former  price,  Mr.  Louis  considers  it  to  be  very  profitable  to  give 
to  "  muttons  "  intended  for  the  early  spring  market. 

There  is  one  scouring-mill  in  the  State — in  San  Antonio  ;  and 
it  would  probably  be  well  if  there  were  more.  This  vast  State 
should  prepare  well  for  the  coming  struggle  with  Australia,  for 
the  New  England  market,  for  fine  clothing  wools.  The  growers 
should  develop  the  system  so  long  advocated  of  skirting  their 
fleeces  when  the  sheep  are  sheared,  and  grading  and  baling  their 
wool,  if  need  be,  in  their  own  State,  before  shipment.  By  this 
system  their  best  wools  would  realize  a  higher  price  and  find 


230  THE   AMERICAN   MERII^O 

their  way  into  the  finest  fancy  cassimere  mills,  where  they  are 
now  unknown  and  condemned  unseen.  It  remains  entirely 
with  the  wool-growers  of  Texas  to  change  this  state  of  things. 
They  can  do  it  from  choice  now,  but  the  time  will  come  when 
necessity  will  compel  them  to  do  it.  The  best  Texas  ranchmen 
are  taking  much  better  and  much  more  uniform  care  of  their 
sheep,  and  are  allowing  their  wool  to  grow  one  full  year  as  is 
done  in  Australia. 

A  Sasiple  Flock. — Following  is  a  statement  of  the  actual 
expenses  and  receipts  of  a  shepherd  in  San  Saba  County,  who 
began  by  purchasing  one  thousand  ewes,  shearing  four  pounds 
per  head,  at  three  dollars  a  head  : 

Dr. 

October  1,  1877.     Original  investment  in  stock,  camp  outflt, 

wages  of  sheplierd  for  one  3'ear.  etc $3,565  25 

March  1st.     Wagon,  $60 ;  pair  of  ponies,  $bO 110  00 

Harness,  $4 ;  medicine,  81  50 5  50 

Waoes  of  Mexican  and  wife  from  March  1st  to  October  1st, 

seven  months,  at  $16 112  00 

Board  of  same,  seven  months,  at  $10 70  00 

Grain  fed  to  rams  while  ninning  with  ewes 20  00 

Shearing  1,720  sheep,  at  four  cents .  08  80 

Hauling  5,875  pounds  of  wool  to  market 29  38 

Public  weigher,  weighing  twentj-four  sa^ks,  at  ten  cents 2  40 

Cost  of  twenty -four  saclis,  at  sixty  cents 14  40 

Ten  pounds  twine,  at  fifteen  cents 1  TO 

Needle  for  sewing  sacks 10 

o.yyy  oo 
Cr. 

May  1st.    Sale  of  wool  from  old  esves,  4,000,  at 

twenty-five  cents $1,0C0  00 

October  1st.     Sale  of  wool  from  750  six-month-old 
lambs,  avera^iiis;  two  and  a  half  pounds,  1,875 

pounds,  at  twenty-five  cents 468  75 

October  1st.    Value  of  stock  at  expiration  of 
first  year : 

9.50  old  ewes,  at  $3 2,850  00 

750  six-month-old  lambs,  at  $3 2/>50  00 

Twenty  merino  rams,  at  $15 300  00 

Value  of  outfit : 

Shot-gun 10  00 

BeddincT,  $4  ;  axe,  fifty  cents  ;  bell,  seventy-five  cents  5  25 

Wa^on,  $50 ;  wagon-cover,  $1.50 51  50 

Span  of  horses 50  00 

Harness  3  00 

Net  profits  first  year  to  balance 2,9S9  17 

6,988  50    6,988  50 


These  figures  pertain  to  an  exceptional  condition,  where  there 


FOR   WOOL  AN^D   MUTTON".  231 

is  no  crowding  of  the  pasturage,  and  no  particular  casualty- 
interferes  with  the  best  attainable  results. 

Among  Texas  sheep  inflammatory  diseases  and  typhus  fever 
are  unknown.  The  only  diseases  reported  are  scab,  liver  rot, 
three  kinds  of  worms,  grab  in  the  head  and  hoove,  which  will 
be  treated  under  their  proper  heads. 

New  Mexico. — For  convenience  I  group  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona  with  Texas,  though  they  received  their  Merino  stock 
and  their  system  of  sheep  husbandry  largely  from  California. 
In  Texas  the  best  flock-masters  seek  to  breed  out  the  Mexican 
blood  entirely,  but  in  New  Mexico  they  wish  to  retain  an  eighth 
or  a  fourth.  The  winter  storms  in  the  mountains  are  very  sud- 
den, cold  and  terrific  ;  but  the  Texas  northers  are  usually  dry. 
Hence,  if  the  New  Mexican  shepherd  caiTies  the  grading-up 
beyond  three-fourths  or  seven-eighths,  what  he  gains  in  sym- 
metry of  form,  weight  of  fleece  and  fineness  of  staple  will  be 
ofiset  by  loss  of  hardiness  and  fecundity. 

In  Texas  it  is  estimated  that  one-sixth  of  the  sheep  are  Mex- 
ican, five-eighths  are  half -Mexican,  and  five-twenty-fourths  are 
from  half-blood  to  pure  Merino.  But  in  New  Mexico  it  is  only 
in  the  north-east  corner — Colfax,  Mora  and  San  Miguel  counties 
— where  Americans  have  settled,  that  there  is  any  appreciable 
touch  of  Merino  blood.  It  is  found  that  the  first  cross  with 
Merino  doubles  the  Mexican  fleece  in  weight.  One  more  cross 
— or  at  most  two — which  will  bring  a  fleece  of  about  eight 
pounds  of  unwashed  wool,  tolerably  fine,  yolky  and  of  a  fair, 
medium  staple,  is  about  as  far  as  they  think  they  can  proceed 
without  detriment  to  a  "  rustling,"  hardy  habit  and  fertility. 

In  American  flocks  the  average  annual  loss,  from  birth  to 
weaning,  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  per  cent.  ;  above  six  months 
of  age,  ten  per  cent.  In  occasional  snow-storms  the  losses  are 
fearful.  Foot-rot  is  unknown,  but  scab  is  common.  The  Mex- 
icans do  not  dip  their  sheep  ;  they  do  nothing  for  scab  except 
to  drive  them  through  deep  water,  which  does  little  good  ; 
hence,  their  flocks  infect  the  Americans.  A  rigid  scab-law  is 
needed,  rigidly  enforced ;  also  fencing,  which  is  found  so  eflS.- 
cacious  a  preventive  in  Texas.  The  Americans  employ  a  dip 
consisting  of  thirty  pounds  of  tobacco,  seven  of  sulphur,  three 
of  concentrated  lye,  dissolved  in  one  hundred  gallons  of  water, 
and  employed  at  a  temperature  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  de- 
grees Fahrenheit.  In  ordinary  seasons  about  sixty  per  cent,  of 
the  ewes  raise  their  lambs,  an  increase  of  about  thirty-eight  per 


332  THE    AMERICAN   MERIJn'O 

cent,  of  the  flock.  In  the  north  the  coupling  season  begins 
about  the  third  week  in  November  and  lasts  six  weeks  ;  in  the 
south,  about  the  first  week.  Lambing  is  in  April ;  shearing,  in 
May.  Fall  shearing  increases  the  total  yearly  clip  about  twenty 
per  cent.  ;  it  has  been  common  all  over  the  Territory,  but  is 
gradually  being  abandoned  in  the  colder  north.  Flocks  are 
rather  larger  than  in  Texas. 

Wool  is  the  primary,  almost  the  only,  object.  The  average 
shepherd,  in  the  keen  mountain  air  of  this  region,  will  consume 
twenty-five  sheep  per  year.  This  makes  so  marked  an  inroad 
into  the  flocks  that  some  owners  prefer  to  purchase  beef  for 
them  at  four  cents  a  pound. 

The  pasturage  and  forage  plants  of  New  Mexico  are  better 
adapted  to  sheep  than  to  cattle,  and  the  former  have  always  pre- 
dominated. The  characteristic  feature  of  the  topography  is  the 
number  of  vast,  sandy,  elevated  mesas — sparsely  covered  with 
low  but  nutritious  grasses — stretching  between  broken  ranges 
which  are  themselves  often  covered  more  or  less  with  grass  and 
herbage.  The  white  grama  abounds  on  the  levels,  while  buffalo 
and  black  grama  are  the  principal  higliland  grasses.  On  the 
ridges  and  rocky  lomas  are  several  varieties  of  cactus,  the 
thorns  of  which  are  easily  broken  off,  and  these  are  trouble- 
some to  herdsmen  and  stock.  There  are  few  unavailable  heights 
or  forests,  but  there  is  much  troublesome  brushwood  in  the 
lomas  that  tears  out  the  sheep's  wool. 

The  most  noticeable  effect  produced  by  grazing  in  this  country 
is  th?  destruction  of  the  grass  on  the  mesas  and  of  the  shrubs 
and  herbs  along  the  streams,  as  a  result  of  which  the  flow  of 
rain-water  from  the  sudden  showei^s  is  less  impeded  than  for- 
merly, and  vast  gullies  are  chasmed  in  the  arroyos  and  water- 
courses through  this  sandy  soil,  which  often  compel  the  traveler 
to  make  a  wide  detour. 

Sheep  Drives.  —One  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the  business 
has  been  the  vast  drives  between  California  and  New  Mexico — 
both  ways.  New  Mexico  was  fully  stocked  from  old  Mexico  as 
early  as  1800  ;  when  gold  was  discovered  in  California,  sheep 
were  driven  in  from  New  Mexico  ;  and  when  the  Pacific  State 
became  overstocked,  it,  in  turn,  filled  up  New  Mexico  with 
Merinos.  In  some  of  these  drives  thirty-four  per  cent,  perished 
on  the  sandy  wastes.  Mexican  sheep  will  travel  ten  to  twelve 
miles  a  day  ;  Merinos,  four  to  eight. 

Sheep  Taken  on  Shares. — This  is  much  practised,  and  is 


FOR   WOOL   A:srD   MUTTOX. 


233 


conducted  in  three  different  methods.  By  the  first,  the  lessee 
makes  payment  entirely  in  sheep  ;  by  the  second,  partly  in 
sheep  and  partly  in  wool ;  by  the  third,  wholly  in  wool.  Con- 
tracts generally  run  five  years,  and  always  at  the  end  the  lessee 
returns  the  same  number  and  class  of  sheep  he  received.  The 
following  table  will  illustrate  : 


METHODS. 


First. 


Second. 


Third. 


LESSOR 

gives: 

1000  ewes. 
30  rams. 


1000  ewes. 
3j  rams. 


RECEIVES : 

1st  year. 


2d  year. 


3d  year. 


Nothing.       Nothing. 


1000  sheep. 
30  rams. 


4th  year. 


5th  year. 


Nothing. 


1000  ewes. 


i  12(10  wethers. 

•iOO  wethers.  203  wethers.  200  wethers.  200  wethers.  50:1  fleeces. 
500  fleeces.    5  0  fleeces.    500  fleeces.  |  500  fleeces.     1000  ewes. 

i  :  30  rams. 


'  I  I  2000  pounds 

lOOO  ewes.    JOOO  pounds  2000  pounds  2000  pounds  20C0  pounds        m-qoI. 
SOr.ims.    j      wool.       I      wool.      I      wool.      |       wool.      I  1000  ewes. 

I  I  I  I  I    30  rams. 


Arizona. — There  is  a  vast  amount  of  territory  in  the  south, 
west,  and  north  which  is  almost  worthless,  being  either  sandy 
deserts,  or  elevated  plateaus,  where  the  only  water  runs  a  half- 
mile  or  a  mile  below  the  surface  in  steep-walled  canons.  In  the 
south  the  country  is  better  for  cattle  than  sheep  ;  onh-  the 
hardy,  acclimated  Mexicans  can  endure  the  great  heat  and  live 
on  the  coarse  herbage  ;  but  in  the  north  there  are  extensive 
ranges  where  sheep  do  best,  because  they  can  go  without  water 
longer  than  cattle.  The  scarcity  of  watering-places  limits  the 
grazing  capacity  of  the  land  ;  for  sheep  cannot  graze  out  beyond 
three  miles  in  a  day,  and  back,  without  losing  condition. 

But  in  the  north-west  and  in  the  east,  along  the  border  of  New 
Mexico,  there  are  some  fine  grazing  lands  for  sheep  ;  and  here 
are  found  about  all  the  Merinos  and  their  grades  which  are  in 
Arizona,  mostly  derived  from  California.  Yavapai  County, 
which  contains  about  all  the  sheep  of  the  north-west,  was  stocked 
with  a  very  fair  quahty  of  Merinos — American  and  French — 
and,  with  the  exception  of  some  old  breeding  ewes,  the  Mexican 
blood  has  been  mostly  weeded  out.  Many  proprietors  produce 
"heavy,  fine  Merino,"  though  the  bulk  of  the  clip  grades  as 
"heavy,  medium  Merino,"  and  is  good,  though  dii'tj^  from  the 
prevalence  of  sand-storms  on  the  mesas.  Flocks  of  California 
origin  average  from  six  to  six  and  a  half  pounds  per  fleece,  and 
that,  twice  a  year. 

Southern  California  systems  of  management  are  found  on 
most  ranches.  thoue:h  in  the  north  the  Mormons  cling  to  the 


234  THE   AMERICAl^^   MERIXO 

old-fashioned  ways,  as,  for  instance,  "handling"  for  the  scab 
— i.  e.,  catching  and  smearing  with  ointment,  instead  of  dipping 
(as  in  Texas)  or  swimming  through  tanks  (as  in  California).  The 
scab  is  kept  tolerably  \s  ell  under  control ;  not  much  wool  is  lost 
from  its  ravages. 

Apache  County  contains  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  sheep 
of  Arizona,  but  they  are  mostly  Mexicans.  The  numbers  of 
these  render  mutton  so  cheap  that  the  breeder  of  Merinos  finds 
it  best  to  keep  his  wethers  for  wool-bearing  as  long  as  they  will 
live. 


CH  APTEE    XXIV. 
SYSTEMS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  Co7itinued. 

California — Historical. — W.  W.  HoUister  went  to  Califor- 
nia in  1852,  and  immediately  discovered  its  adaptability  to  sheep. 
Eeturning  to  Ohio,  he  again  set  out  for  the  Golden  State,  in  1853, 
with  a  flock  of  six  thousand  of  the  best  sheep  that  his  native 
State  could  raise.  They  were  reduced  by  death,  etc.,  to  one- 
third  of  tlie  original  number  before  the  border  of  that  State  was 
reached.  But  they  were  the  progenitors  of  the  bulk  of  the  sheep 
of  California.  His  flock  soon  reached  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand,  while  his  average  sales  ran  up  to  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  Success  like  this  could  hardly  fail  to  in- 
spire imitators,  and  soon  a  great  number  became  interested  in 
sheep  husbandry,  among  whom  may  be  named  H.  HoUister, 
Mr.  Dibbles,  T.  and  B.  Fhnt,  Jotham  Bixby,  W.  W.  Cole  and  J. 
Moore.  These  were  followed  before  1858  by  H.  A.  Rawson, 
Peters,  Murray  Bros.,  G.  W.  Grayson  and  others.  S.  W.  Jew- 
ett,  of  Vermont,  shipped  hundreds  of  Merinos  to  California,  by 
sea.  In  1870,  J.  H.  Strow bridge  introduced  a  flock  of  pure 
Merinos  from  Addison  County,  Vermont. 

Wool  Product. — In  1854  it  was  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  pounds.  Next  year  it  doubled.  The  following  year, 
or  1856,  showed  a  duplication  of  the  previous  one,  while  1857 
yielded  over  one  million  pounds  of  wool  from  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing flocks  of  the  State.  Thence  afterward  the  increase 
w^as  less  rapid,  but  1859  showed  a  duplication  ;  and  in  1863,  or 
three  years  thereafter,  the  clip  had  risen  to  almost  six  million 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOK.  235 

pounds.  Five  years  then  elapsed  and  ten  milKon  pounds  was 
reached.  The  reason  of  the  slower  progress  of  wool  growing 
was  due  to  the  greater  demand  of  the  markets,  which  thinned 
off  the  flocks,  and  the  extended  area  over  which  the  business 
was  carried  on,  exposing  the  sheep  to  greater  dangers,  and  the 
young  to  greater  risks  from  cold  seasons,  etc.  In  1868  circum- 
stances were  favoring,  and  the  product  at  a  bound  went  up  fifty 
per  cent.  In  the  year  1870,  sixteen  years  after  the-  first 
serious  attempt  at  the  successful  pursuit  of  the  business,  twenty 
milhon  pounds  had  been  attained  as  California's  contribution 
to  the  wool  product  of  the  world.  Three  years  afterwards  wit- 
nessed another  great  stride— in  advance,  as  in  1873  over  thhty- 
two  miUion  pounds  were  placed  to  California's  credit  in  the 
record.  California  now  rapidly  approached  her  maximum 
in  the  production  of  wool.  The  next  year  saw  nearly  forty 
million  pounds  produced,  while  in  two  years  thereafter, 
1876,  she  attained  to  her  greatest  height  m  that  respect, 
the  clij)  in  that  year  exceeding  fifty-six  and  a  half  million 
pounds.  It  is  now  estimated  that  seventy-five  per  cent,  of 
the  sheep  of  California  are  full-blood  or  high-grade  Merinos. 
Having  been  engrafted  on  the  old  Mission  or  Mexican  stock, 
they  are  generally  hardy  and  prolific.  When  the  time  arrived 
— and  it  arrived  full  quickly,  under  the  enormous  stimulus  of 
gold-digging — when  the  State  became  overstocked,  California 
was  ready  to  colonize  the  adjacent  States  and  Territories  with 
a  class  of  sheep  which  could  not  have  been  equalled  elsewhere 
m  the  United  States  in  adaptation  to  the  special  requirements 
of  the  newly  opened  regions.  The  large,  rangy  Merino  ewes, 
from  Cahfornia  and  Oregon,  supplied  the  chief  contingent  in 
the  whole  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  have  con- 
tinued to  do  so  even  since  the  completion  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  in  Western  Texas. 

Characteristics  of  California  Sheep.— The  rich  and  co- 
pious pasturage  of  this  State  at  an  early  day,  and  the  use  of  a 
great  many  Fi-ench  Merinr)  rams  in  the  southern  section  of  it, 
have  developed,  in  California,  a  Merino  from  ten  to  twenty  per 
cent,  larger  than  any  other  in  the  United  States,  except  the 
Victor-Beall  Delaines,  of  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania. 
The  mature  California  wether  often  weighs  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  ;  the  ewe,  one  hundred  and  ten.  The  long,  mid- 
summer drought  of  the  Pacific  coast  compels  the  flocks  to  be 
driven  into  the  high  SieiTas,  or  the  Coast  Range  mountains, 
thus  conforming  the  sheep  husbandly  of  California  somewhat 


236  THE   AMERICA]!^"   MERIXO 

to  that  of  Spain  ;  and  a  large  and  strong  sheep  is  required  to 
endure  the  long  drives  and  the  severe  climbing. 

The  California  flock-masters,  imj)ressed  somewhat  with  the 
conservative  views  of  their  Mexican  hirelings,  have  generally 
hesitated  to  build  up  full-blood  Merino  flocks,  believing  them  to 
lack  in  vigor.  But  Messrs.  Kirkpatrick  and  Whittaker,  of  Stan- 
islaus County,  have  handled  their  thoroughbreds,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  in  the  same  way  that  the  common  sheep  of  the  State 
are  managed,  and  thus  their  stock  has  acquired  a  vigor  pos- 
sessed pi'obably  by  no  other  thoroughbred  animals,  as  few  would 
care  to  hazard  valuable  stock  on  an  annual  journey  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Sierra,  with  its  attendant  losses,  to  secure  a  summer 
range  of  brush  and  sparse  pasture  ;  but  prefer  rather  to  develop 
their  stock  in  the  luxuriant  alfalfa  fields  or  in  the  well-filled 
barns  of  the  valleys,  thus,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  unfitting 
them,  or  their  progeny  that  inherit  their  disposition,  for  taking 
care  of  themselves  on  an  average  sheep  range. 

The  weeding  out  of  the  weakest,  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
the  habit  of  hunting  for  their  own  sustenance,  acquired  and  in- 
herited by  stock  handled  in  this  way,  compensate  for  all  losses 
sustained  on  the  trip  to  the  mountains,  and  is  of  immeasurable 
value  to  the  wool  grower  who  secures  his  breeding  stock  from 
such  a  source. 

Tlie  disposition  and  ability  to  "  rustle"  is  transmitted  to  their 
progeny  as  much  as  any  other  quality,  and  with  that  trait  thor- 
oughly fixed,  all  objections  to  the  use  of  thoroughbreds  disap- 
pear. 

In  Southern  CaUfoi-nia  the  strong  contingent  of  French  blood 
has  given  a  sheep  somewhat  too  leggy;  with  stout  shanks;  thin- 
shouldered  ;  the  quarters  not  well  developed  ;  body,  long  and 
lank  ;  constitution,  inferior  to  the  American  ;  skin,  wrinkly  ;  a 
heavy  fleece  of  rather  coarse,  straight,  gummy  wool.  The  best 
flock-maslers  are  breeding  away  from  these  points  by  a  free 
use  of  the  modern  American  Merino,  which  gives  an  animal 
with  shorter  legs,  a  more  compact  and  well-rounded  body,  a 
fleece  of  finer  and  longer  wool,  though,  perhaps,  not  so  heavy. 
A  plain  animal  is  generally  sought  after  for  a  range  sheep  ;  one 
with  not  above  a  single,  heavy  fold  about  the  neck. 

The  California  Merino  ewe  excels  the  average  range  Merino 
of  the  older  States  in  fertility,  and  as  a  nurse,  by  five  or  ten  per 
cent.  Pacific  coast  flocks  have  long  been  the  favorites  in  the 
interior  as  breeders,  and  for  this  purpose  they  have  been  trans- 


FOR  WOOL  AND   3IUTT0If.  237 

ported  even  to  Minnesota  and  Western  Nebraska.     In  Tehama 
County,  ewes  formerly  raised  one  hundred  psr  cent,  of  lambs. 

Generax,  Management. — Ranges  are  not  £o  generally  fenced 
with  wire  as  in  Texas  ;  the  flocks  are  larger,  running  from  one 
thousand  to  three  thousand.  Wethers  are  separated  from  tlie 
ewes  in  lambing  time,  as  they  travel  too  much  for  them. 
Mutton  is  much  more  sought  after  than  in  Texas,  consequently 
greater  pains  are  taken  to  segregate  the  wethers  intended  for 
the  shambles.  During  the  winter  the  sheep  are  frequently  not 
"  banded  "  at  all ;  they  run  at  large  about  the  range. 

In  very  large  flocks,  in  Southern  California,  the  ewes  are  sep- 
arated into  bands  according  to  age-  yearUngs,  two-year-olds, 
etc. 

In  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  and  in  Southern 
California  there  are  distinctly  defined  ranges  for  winter  and 
summer.  The  great  chain  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  is  the  mainstay, 
in  summer,  of  the  flocks  on  the  plains,  for  a  distance  of  four 
hundred  miles  north  and  south  ;  when  the  pasturage  withers 
on  the  plains  and  foot-hills,  they  begin  to  ascend  its  slopes,  grad- 
ually mounting  higher  as  the  snow  disappears,  until  they  reach 
the  rich,  natural  meadows  lying  deep  in  the  double  crest  of  the 
Sierra,  where  they  spend  the  summer.  One  acre  here  will  sup- 
port a  sheep  during  the  limited  season.  The  mountain  ranges 
between  Kern  and  Los  Angeles  Counties  have  long  been  the  re- 
sort of  the  flocks  during  droughts  in  Los  Angeles,  Ventui'a  and 
Santa  Barbara  Counties. 

In  the  extreme  northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  State 
there  is  less  distinction  between  the  winter  and  summer  ranges, 
except  as  the  sheep  themselves  naturally  regulate  their  move- 
ments, coming  lower  down  when  the  snow  begins  to  fall  on  the 
summits.  At  the  south,  the  shepherds  aim  to  remove  the  flocks 
from  the  tenacious  "adobe"  soils  in  rainy  weather ;  there  is 
danger  of  their  bogging-down.  The  foot-hills  are  everywhere 
the  favorite  natural  range  in  \\  inter,  being  of  a  firmer  soil,  with 
rounded  and  thinly  wooded  knolls  and  patches  of  chaparral 
affording  browse  and  protection  from  storms. 

Some  of  the  flocks  of  the  great  central  basin,  instead  of  sum- 
mering in  the  Sierra,  are  driven  into  the  vast  tule-swamps  bor- 
dering the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin,  which  afford  much 
coarse  herbage.  After  the  water  retreats  from  these  swamps 
the  tules  are  sometimes  burned  to  freshen  the  growth.  Wheat 
sown  in  the  ashes  and  trodden  in  by  flocks  of  sheep  driven  to 


238  THE   AMERICANS"   MERIJ^O 

and  fro  has  been  known  to  produce  seventy  bushels  per  acre. 
Flocks  wintered  on  the  black,  deep  soil  of  these  tules  get  their 
wool  much  discolored  ;  it  contrasts  strangely  with  the  white 
fleeces  just  brought  down  from  the  Sierra  in  autumn. 

Only  rams  or  small  and  choice  flocks  are  fed  or  sheltered  in  win- 
ter, though  in  the  northern,  mountainous  ranges,  when  a  snow- 
fall lies  on  the  ground  a  week  or  more,  barley  is  scattered  for 
them,  on  the  snow,  at  the  rate  of  a  half-pound  per  head.  On 
the  great  wheat  farms  of  the  central  plains  no  care  is  taken  of 
the  straw,  and  before  the  rainy  season  sets  in  it  is  burned  in  vast 
quantities.  Within  sight  of  the  dome  of  the  State  Capitol  I 
once  saw  a  farmer,  whose  sheep  were  dying  by  the  hundreds 
for  lack  of  a  little  grain  and  the  straw  he  had  burned,  construct 
a  furnace  and  boil  up  the  carcasses  for  hogs  ! 

Breeding  Flocks  and  Lambs. — Very  much  the  same  methods 
of  management  prevail  as  were  described  for  Texas.  The  lamb- 
ing season  comes  somewhat  earlier  than  in  that  State,  however  ; 
in  Northern  California  it  begins  in  February  ;  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, in  January.  In  both  sections  it  continues  six  weeks  or 
two  months.  Ewes  which  "miss"  in  the  autumnal  coupling 
are  put  with  the  rams  again  in  the  spring,  to  drop  their  lambs 
from  October  15th  to  November  15th.  The  ewes  are  nearly  al- 
ways corraled  at  night  in  the  lambing  season,  although  some- 
times, when  the  corral  has  been  allowed  to  become  very  foul, 
and  there  is  no  imminent  danger  from  coyotes  or  other  wild 
animals,  they  are  simply  "camped  "  for  the  night  near  the  head- 
quarters of  the  range.  "When  there  is  six  inches  of  manure  in 
the  corral  and  it  has  been  rendered  soft  and  thin  by  the  long 
winter  rains,  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  lambing  in  such  a 
place  would  be  a  miserable  and  disgusting  business.  Lambs  are 
castrated  when  four  to  six  weeks  old. 

Lambs  are  weaned  at  the  age  of  four  or  five  months.  They 
are  either  wholly  separated  from  the  ewes,  or  else  they  are 
"  cross- weaned  " — that  is,  the  lambs  of  one  flock  are  put  with 
the  mothers  of  another,  etc.  After  a  few  weeks  the  flocks  are 
corraled  again,  and  lambs  and  ewes  put  by  themselves.  In  the 
wooded  and  brushy  regions  of  the  Coast  Range  and  the  high 
Sierras,  however,  it  is  difficult  to  keep  flocks  segregated,  and 
they  frequently  run  in  masses  as  best  they  can. 

Shearing. — Indians  are  largely  employed  in  this  branch  of 
the  business,  both  north  and  south,  and  for  herders,  also ;  they 
being  more  patient  and  gentle  than  Americans.     An  Indian 


FOR  WOOL  AITD  MUTTOl^.  239 

shears  about  three  sheep  to  the  American's  five.  The  price  paid 
is  &ve  or  six  cents  per  fleece  with  board  (seven  cents  without). 
Indians  and  Mexicans  frequently  go  in  a  chib  or  company,  trav- 
ehng  from  ranch  to  ranch,  under  the  command  of  a  captain, 
who  makes  all  their  contracts,  receives  and  divides  the  money, 
settles  all  disputes,  and  subjects  all  his  followers  to  his  com- 
mand. In  the  balmy  chmate  of  the  Pacific  coast,  especially  at 
the  fall  shearing,  generally  no  shelter  is  needed  except  that  af- 
forded by  a  clump  of  spreading  live-oaks.  Under  these,  long 
platforms  are  erected,  and  the  swarthy  shearers,  with  bared 
hea  Is  and  breasts,  their  skins  beaded  with  perspiration,  bend- 
ing to  their  work  in  an  aboriginal  silence,  keep  the  shears  chok- 
ing in  a  not  unmusical  concert. 

In  the  arid  climate  of  this  coast,  with  its  all-pervading  dust, 
its  sand-storms,  its  myriads  of  detached  grass-seeds,  with  chaff 
and  powdered  foliage  under  foot,  the  fleeces  get  very  dirty  dur- 
ing the  summer.  A  man  who  shears  sixty  sheep  in  the  spring, 
will  shear  only  fifty  in  the  fall,  though  the  fall  fleece  will  prob- 
ably be  only  about  half  as  heavy  in  actual  wool. 

When  the  rains  are  not  too  severe,  the  spring  shearing  is  done 
in  March,  in  Southern  California,  and  again  in  August ;  in  the 
north,  the  months  are  May  and  September.  One  farmer,  in  Men- 
docino County,  tried  the  experiment  of  shearing  his  lambs  about 
July  15th,  to  free  them  from  the  grass-seed,  and  the  results  were 
so  good  that  he  continued  the  practice.  In  Placer  County  I 
have  seen  sheep,  that  were  shorn  too  early  (the  owners  of  large 
flocks  have  to  hasten  matters  to  finish  lambing  and  shearing 
before  the  pasture  dries  up  in  the  foot-hills,  and  the  sheep  get 
impatient  to  set  out  for  the  mountains),  huddled  close  in  squads 
of  twelve  to  twenty  in  the  little,  pit-hke  depressions  of  the  me- 
sas, a  day  or  more  at  a  time,  during  the  long,  driving  rains  ;  and 
when  the  rains  were  over,  so  that  the  sheep  could  go  out  to  graz- 
ing again,  there  would  be  from  one  to  three  or  four  dead  sheep 
lying  in  each  depression. 

Grades  of  Wool. — In  California,  with  its  hundreds  of  iso- 
lated valleys  and  its  hundreds  of  resultant  sharp  climatic  con- 
trasts— as,  for  instance,  in  going  from  semi-tropical,  almost 
frostless  Vacaville,  a  short  distance  over  a  low  range  to  the  cold 
ocean  fogs  and  blustering  winds  of  Marin — we  find,  perhaps, 
the  most  striking  differences  in  wool  values  within  short  dis- 
tances. The  prevalence  of  the  bui-s  of  the  yellow  or  bur  clover 
in  some  localities,  mostly  lowlands,  contributes  to  this  differ- 


240  THE  AMERICAIT   MERINO 

ence.  There  are  six  groups  of  wool  counties :  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  rivers,  northern  and  southern  coast,  middle  or  foot- 
hill, and  two  mountain  counties — Humboldt  and  Mendocino. 
They  run  about  as  follows :  San  Joaquin,  free,  thirteen  and 
sixteen  cents  ;  burry,  eleven  and  thirteen  cents  ;  southern  coast, 
twelve  and  sixteen  cents  ;  northern,  defective,  fifteen  and  sev- 
enteen cents ;  Sacramento,  free,  eighteen  and  twenty  cents ; 
Calaveras  and  middle  counties,  best,  seventeen  and  twenty 
cents  ;  Humboldt  and  Mendocino,  twenty  and  twenty-two  cents. 

The  spring  shearing  in  the  south  is  done  very  early  to  antici- 
pate the  ripening  of  the  alfileria  and  bur-clover  seeds,  which 
would  injure  the  wool  very  much.  In  the  fall  there  is  no  haste, 
for  they  will  be  in  the  wool  at  any  rate. 

The  northern  wools  are  better  grown  than  the  southern  ;  they 
are  brighter  and  freer  from  seeds  and  burs.  Brightness  results 
from  the  washings  on  the  sheep's  backs  by  the  heavy  rains  of 
"winter  and  spring.  The  shrinkage  of  the  northern  wools  in 
scouring  is  less  by  ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  than  that  of  the  south- 
em  clip.  Even  at  the  above  prices  a  manufacturer  complains, 
in  the  United  States  Economist,  that  "it  costs  me  ninety-six 
cents  to  scour  California  wools."  The  southern  flock-masters, 
however,  claim  that  they  are  compensated  for  this  lower  price 
by  the  greater  weight  of  their  fleeces.  As  a  rule,  the  southern 
sheep  are  the  better  bred  of  the  two.  Against  the  favoring 
rains  of  the  north,  there  is  in  the  south  a  more  abundant  past- 
ure, especially  bur  clover  and  alfileria.  The  quality  of  wool 
throughout  the  State  has  improved  progressively  as  the  grade 
has  advanced  from  the  original  Chourro  or  Mexican. 

There  are  seven  establishments  in  San  Francisco  which  scour 
wool  before  it  is  shipped  East,  though  some  of  them,  I  regret  to 
learn,  are  about  to  be  abandoned.  Several  years  ago  it  was 
found  that  scoured  wool  could  be  sliipped  to  the  great  mills  at 
Cohoes,  New  York,  at  a  price  which  would,  and  did,  supplant 
the  wools  of  Australia,  heretofore  principally  depended  on  for 
a  supply. 

Tlie  best  California  wool,  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  State,  is 
manufactured  at  home.  California  blankets  have  a  deserved 
and  world-wide  reputation. 

Tlie  United  States  Government  Report,  of  1884,  gives  the  esti- 
mated wool-clip  of  1880  as  follows  :  Rams,  fourteen  j)ounds ; 
ewes,  6.33  pounds;  wethers,  8.11  pounds;  lambs,  5.40  pounds. 

Mutton  Sheep. — The  demand  for  mutton  is  so  considerable 


FOR  WOOL  Al^B  MUTTON".  241 

that  nearly  every  flock  has  its  separate  "  mutton  band."  When 
the  rams  are  put  into  the  breeding  flocks  in  the  fall,  the  old  and 
otherwise  undesirable  ewes  are  culled  out  and  thrown  into  the 
wether  or  mutton  flock.  Wool  being  the  primary  object  of 
sheep  husbandry,  the  flock-master  likes  to  chng  to  his  largest, 
finest  wethers  as  long  as  possible  ;  hence,  has  arisen,  as  in  Texas, 
the  delusive  maxim,  "  Old  sheep  for  mutton." 

Wethers  are  never  grain-fed,  but  after  harvest  they  are  turned 
on  the  wheat-stubble,  six  weeks  or  two  months.  So  many  heads 
are  left  by  the  wasteful  machines  used  in  harvesting,  and  so 
sound  do  they  remain  in  the  rainless  months,  that  the  stubble 
is  rich  feed  ;  and  it  is  a  common  saying  of  the  California  farmer 
that  his  stubble  must  pay  his  taxes. 

American  Merinos  make  better  mutton  than  the  French  ;  they 
stand  herding  better,  are  more  compact  and  round-bodied,  are 
better  feeders,  being  not  so  dainty  in  their  search  for  choice 
herbage.  California  breeders  unanimously  condemn  the  cross 
with  the  English  sheep,  except  where  mutton  is  decidedly  more 
important  than  wool. 

At  the  fall  shearine^,  old  wethers,  intended  for  the  winter  mar- 
ket, are  sometimes  left  unshorn,  as  the  protecting  fleeces  will 
keep  them  in  better  condition  during  the  long,  cold  ra,ins.  A 
majority  of  the  ewes,  and  a  great  many  wethers,  are  kept  so 
long  for  shearing  that  they  die  of  old  age. 

The  estimated  average  live  weight  of  mutton  sheep  is  one 
hundred  and  four  pounds  ;  dressed,  flfty-four  pounds. 

Sheep  on  Wheat  Farms. — A  representative  wheat-grower,  in 
Tehama  Counts,  had  fifteen  thousand  acres  of  wheat,  and  six- 
teen thousand  sheep.  After  gleaning  the  stubble  and  cleaning 
oS  the  weeds  in  the  fall,  they  spend  the  winter  on  some  rough 
lava-beds  or  mesas  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  Nevada ;  in  the 
spring  they  are  driven  into  the  mountains  to  remain  until  after 
harvest.  The  yield  of  wheat  on  the  virgin  soil  was  forty  bushels 
per  acre,  and  after  steady  cropping  for  about  fifteen  years  it  still 
remained  the  same.  Being  asked  how  he  kept  up  the  fertility 
without  manuring,  he  replied:  "My  sheep  furnish  manure 
yearly  to  the  stubble-fields  that  fatten  them  before  they  are 
turned  out  for  winter." 

Effects  of  Sheep  on  Pasture.— With  the  exception  of  a 
limited  number  of  cattle-men,  inimical  to  sheep,  the  testimony 
of  California  stock-men  is,  that  sheep  produce  favorable  effects 
on  the  w^ild  grasses.     Messrs.  Miller  and  Lux,  after  twenty-five 


242  THE  AMERICAl^   MERINO 

years'  experience,  furnished  the  following  statement  to  the 
United  States  Census  agent :  "  Ranges  are  benefited  by  sheep 
if  the  stock  is  judiciously  grazed  ;  then  they  are  sure  to  increase 
the  yield  and  improve  the  quality.  They  must  not  be  kept  on 
too  long  in  winter,  so  as  to  cut  up  the  low  land  and  tread  out 
the  roots,  nor  too  heavily  in  spring,  so  as  to  prevent  the  grass 
from  bearing  seed.  California  land  needs  the  packing  that 
sheep  give,  and  their  tramping,  when  not  excessive,  prepares 
the  soil  to  retain  the  surface  rains  to  nourish  better  and  more 
varied  grasses.  We  have,  most  carefully,  noted  results,  and 
know  that,  in  California,  land  used  for  sheep  with  judgment  is 
always  improved." 

It  is  undeniable  that  sheep  have  not  always  been  "used  with 
judgment,"  and  it  is  the  result  of  my  own  obseiwations,  ex- 
tended through  a  period  of  over  five  years,  that,  while  they 
have  increased  tbe  production  of  alfileria  (locally  known  as 
"fileree"),  and  bur  clover — two  very  valuable  forage  plants — 
they  have  contributed  more  than  cattle,  by  their  close  cropping 
and  by  the  consumption  of  seed,  toward  the  destruction  of  wild 
oats  and  bunch-grass,  which,  in  the  Sierra  foot-hills,  are  suc- 
ceeded by  the  worthless  "squirrel-grass." 

On  Pit  River  and  Goose  Lake,  sheep  have  also  very  materially 
decreased  the  production  of  the  bunch,  red-top,  rye,  blue-joint 
and  salt  (alkali)  grasses.  Such  I  found  to  be  the  opinion  of  a 
majority  of  the  ranchmen  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  that  re- 
gion in  1873. 

It  is  remarked  by  observant  shepherds  that  their  flocks  drink 
less  on  wild  grasses  than  on  alfalfa,  though  there  are  certain 
salt  or  alkali  grasses  which  increase  their  thirst.  Alkali  grasses 
destroy  the  fertility  of  some  cows  after  six  or  eight  yeai*s,  and 
render  bulls  impotent  after  three  or  four  ;  but  no  such  effects 
on  sheep  have  been  recorded. 

Sheep  on  Alfalfa.— Mr.  J.  T.  McJunkin,  of  Hanford.  a  wool- 
grower  of  much  experience,  has  kept  as  many  as  nine  hundred 
to  thirteen  hundred  head  of  sheep  on  one  hundred  acres  of  al- 
falfa the  year  round,  except  for  about  two  months,  when  they 
were  turned  upon  the  wheat  stubble.  During  those  two  months 
he  cut  his  alfalfa  once,  and  stacked  the  hay  for  the  cold  weather 
of  winter,  when  the  green  feed  would  be  short.  In  a  very  good 
season  he  has  kept  as  high  as  fifteen  sheep  per  acre,  and  thinks 
that  even  thirteen  per  acre  are  more  profitable  than  wheat.  He 
finds  that  there  is  great  danger  of  sheep  bloating  if  moved  from 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOI^.  243 

short  feed  to  rank  alfalfa,  and  he  avoids  this  by  not  allowing 
them  to  graze  down  one  pasture  too  low  before  they  are  turned 
into  another.  He  also  keeps  lumps  of  rock-salt  in  the  pasture 
as  a  preventive.  Sheep  drink  a  great  deal  when  fed  on  alfalfa 
hay.  Owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of  pasturage  in  the  winter  of 
1881-2,  Mr.  McJunkin's  neighbors  reported  a  falling  off  of  twen- 
ty-five per  cent,  in  their  clips  ;  but  his  remained  at  the  custom- 
ary figure.  For  these  facts  I  am  indebted  to  an  article  in  the 
Pacific  Rural  Press. 

In  the  Sierra  Nevada. — The  great  annual  migration  of  the 
flocks  in  the  central  basin  up  to  the  rich,  natural  meadows  in 
the  double  crest  of  the  Sierra,  is  the  distinguishing  characteris- 
tic of  California  sheep  husbandry.  In  the  spring,  as  soon  as 
sheep  begin  to  show  decided  indications  of  thirst — they  drink 
little  or  nothing  on  the  fresh  feed  of  early  spring — the  shepherds 
consider  that  the  time  has  arrived  to  start  into  the  mountains. 
The  sheep  are  made  up  into  flocks  of  four  thousand  to  eight 
thousand  for  the  ascent,  which  occupies  a  month  or  six  weeks. 
When  arrived  at  the  meadows  they  are  divided  into  flocks  of 
twenty-five  hundred  to  three  thousand,  for  the  summer.  It  is 
calculated  that  an  acre  of  meadow  will  support  a  sheep  through 
the  summer  ;  and  that  the  fall  clip  will  be  increased  by  a  pound 
and  a  half  over  what  it  would  have  been  if  the  sheep  had  re- 
mained on  the  plains.  When  the  coupling  season  arrives,  rams 
are  driven  up  in  little  flocks  from  the  home-range  on  the  plains. 
As  soon  as  the  first  snow  gives  intimation  of  the  approach  of 
the  rainy  season  the  flocks  are  headed  for  the  plains,  but  the 
descent  is  leisurely  made. 

The  "Sheep-Herder."— From  the  great  number  of  "Dig- 
gers" and  "  Greasers"  employed  in  the  work  of  herding  sheep, 
this  occupation  became  degraded  and  vulgarized  ;  and  no  one 
in  California  speaks  of  the  "  shepherd" — it  is  only  the  prosaic 
*'sheep-herd3r."  The  great  sheep-runs  of  California,  like  those 
of  Australia,  seem  to  be  a  sort  of  mild  form  of  Botany  Bay  for 
their  respective  mother  countries.  Old  flock-masters  will  teU 
you,  out  of  their  long  experience  in  either  country,  of  dozens 
of  men,  college  flnished,  perhaps,  who  themselves  or  their  fami- 
lies banished  from  home — not,  perhaps,  like  Barrington's  pa- 
triots, "  for  their  country's  good  " — but  for  the  suppression  and 
healing  of  scandal,  and  who  are  now  harvesting  their  traditional 
and  unhappy  crop  of  wild  oats,  at  the  same  time  they  watch  the 
sheep  upon  the  hills  pick  their's  (Avenafatua) — "  comrades  of 


244  THE   AMERICAN   MERIN^O 

the  wolf  and  owl."  One  of  the  great  flock-masters  on  the  Nas- 
cimiento  told  me  that  during  one  year  he  had  employed  on  his 
ranch  a  bishop's  son,  a  banker,  an  editor,  a  civil  engineer,  and 
a  book-keeper — at  least  two  of  them  being  college  graduates. 

Sometimes  the  corrals  are  simply  enclosed  with  rambling 
strings  of  brush  fence  (the  knaggy  clumps  of  chapparal  are 
easily  pulled  up  with  a  yoke  of  oxen,  and,  being  thrown  to- 
gether, make  a  fence  impassable  excejjt  to  a  gi-izzly  or  a  nimble 
coyote).  Sometimes  they  are  made  of  cotton- wood  hmbs  set  in 
a  shallow  trench  around  a  square,  and  wattled  with  the  smaller 
twigs  or  with  willows.  In  these  the  manure  accumulates  a 
foot  deep  or  more,  and  then  the  indolent  fellow  makes  another 
corral,  or  else  sets  to  work  with  a  span  of  horses  and  a  scraper 
and  scrapes  it  out.  After  a  rainless  summer  of  six  months,  it 
is  dry  to  the  bottom  and  as  loose  as  an  ash-heap.  The  operation 
of  scraping  stirs  up  an  odor  which  is  as  pungent  as  mustard  and 
smells  to  heaven.  The  sun,  which  is  never  hidden  by  so  much 
as  a  capful  of  cloud,  riots  in  these  exhalations,  and  the  air  is 
filled  with  a  fertile  dust.  A  huge  hillock  is  heaped  up  as  they 
heap  up  a  hay-rick  m  Nebraska,  as  steep  as  it  will  lie  and  left 
to  waste,  becoming  in  years  a  guano-bed,  a  score  of  feet  deep, 
or  even  deeper.  They  often  scrape  it  out  into  a  little  ravine  or 
gulch,  and  the  winter  rains  flush  them  out,  rollmg  down  to 
flats  already  abundantly  fertile  (if  they  had  water),  or  sheer  into 
the  channel  of  a  stream  immense  volumes  of  this  valuable 
manure.     Wasteful  Calif ornians  ! 

Once  in  a  fortnight  there  comes  to  the  shepherd  from  the 
great  outside  world  a  donkey -load  of  beans,  coffee  or  tea,  sugar, 
and  flour — perhaps  a  newspaper  or  two.  Besides  this  he  sees 
no  soul  unless  it  may  be  a  hunter,  or  a  solitary  cowboy  looking 
for  strayed  stock.  At  night  the  supercilious  coyote  inspects  and 
pollutes  the  corners  of  his  habitation.  The  long  and  hungry 
scream  of  the  California  lion  floats  athwart  his  dreams,  and 
perhaps  he  is  awakened  at  midnight  by  the  heavy  lumbering 
crunch  of  the  grizzly  over  his  brushwood  corral,  and  the  piteous 
bleat  of  some  sheep  (sheep  will  bleat  with  j^ain  sometimes), 
whose  ham  the  monster  is  scooping  out.  In  the  morning  he 
follows  his  gadding  flock  over  the  rounded  wild-oat  hills,  dotted 
with  live-oaks  ;  along  the  borders  of  the  bright  evergreen  cha- 
misal — too  dense  for  his  sheep  to  penetrate,  but  the  minute 
flowers  of  which  furnish  pasture  for  myriads  of  bees  ;  and  at 
evening  on  the  shelves  of  i)hiins  and  in  the  little  valleys,  among 
the  moss-streamered  oaks,  and  the  whited,  plumy  tufts  of  the 


FOR   WOOL   AKD   MUTTON.  245 

bunch  grass.  Long  thoughts  are  his  as  he  lounges  "  mony  a 
canty  day  "  over  the  ripe  and  yellow  mountains,  which  are 
frosted  over,  like  a  cake,  with  a  tender  lilac  haze.  Or,  from 
some  ' '  specular  height "  he  looks  down  on  the  saturnine 
and  awful  desolation  of  late  autumn  ;  the  far  dun  reaches  of 
rolling-tables,  thinly  flecked  with  dwarfish  oaks,  and  the  sharp- 
cut,  purple  peaks.  Or,  perhaps  you  will  find  him  squatted 
with  his  faithful  dog  between  his  knees,  while  in  the  vast 
mustard  plain  around  you  cannot  see  a  sheep,  and  only  hear 
the  multitudinous  crackling  and  surging  in  the  dry  mustard. 
You  will  not  heed  his  tatters,  for  his  vagabond  flock  have  led 
him  many  a  chase  through  the  sage  and  the  rosemary  of  the 
adjacent  foothills.  There  is  no  picturesque  heirloom  crook  in 
his  hand,  but,  instead,  a  plug  of  navy  tobacco.  This  dissipates 
the  poetry  of  the  situation.  Probably  there  is  moored,  even 
now,  at  San  Francisco  or  San  Diego,  the  ship  from  which  he 
deserted. 

The  "Dodge  Gate."— The  sheep  of  different  owners  often 
get  mixed,  especially  in  Southern  California,  when  a  high  wind 
blows  off  the  long  Spanish  moss  ;  they  are  very  fond  of  this 
and  scatter  widely  in  search  of  it.  To  separate  them,  there  is 
provided  a  large  coiTal,  with  a  very  narrow  and  long  lane  lead- 
ing from  it  to  two  smaller  ones.  In  the  narrowest  place  is  the 
"dodge-gate,"  in  the  middle  of  the  lane  and  parallel  with  it ; 
the  swinging  end  points  toward  the  large  corral.  The  sheep 
are  driven  into  the  large  corral  and  are  slowly  forced,  one  at  a 
time,  through  the  lane,  while  a  man  standing  at  the  gate  moves 
it  to  this  side  or  that,  parting  Smith's  sheep  from  Jones'. 

California  needs  fewer  "  dodge-gates,"  and  more  wire-fence 
and  cultivated  fields. 

Sheep  in  Vineyards.  —  The  following  paragraph  is  from  the 
Fresno  Republican  :  "  Vineyardists  should  not  forget  the  ad- 
vantage derived  from  pasturmg  sheep  in  the  vineyard  as  soon 
as  the  grapes  are  harvested.  Vineyards  infested  with  insects 
that  lay  their  eggs  on  the  leaves  or  on  the  ground  are  easily  ex- 
terminated in  this  way.  The  sheep  eat  the  leaves  if  they  are 
yet  green,  and  thus  destroy  the  eggs.  By  packing  the  ground, 
many  insects  and  eggs  are  also  destroyed  there.  This  is  the 
best  way  to  destroy  the  leaf  hoppers,  which  some  years  are  so 
destructive  in  our  vineyards.  That  this  year  there  have  been 
none  of  these  hoppers  to  do  any  harm,  we  have  principally  to 
thank  the  sheep  for.  After  the  frost  has  killed  the  leaves  and 
they  become  dried,  the  sheep  will  not  eat  them." 


246  THE   AMERICA!!^   MERIKO 

PREI-ARAIION  OF  WooL  FOR  SHIPPING.— Freights  by  railroad 
are  one  cent  and  a  half  per  pound  on  wool  costing  twelve  cents 
per  pound  or  under  ;  one  cent  and  three-quarters  per  pound  for 
that  costing  from  twelve  cents  to  eighteen  cents  per  pound,  and 
two  cents  per  pound  for  that  costing  over  eighteen  cents  per 
pound,  but  the  quantity  of  the  latter  is  not  veiy  large.  By  ship 
to  New  York,  around  Cape  Horn,  it  is  one  cent  per  pound.  The 
freight  on  scoured  wool  is  three  cents  per  pound. 

The  sand-storms,  the  dust  of  the  long,  rainless  summer,  the 
grease  created  by  the  great  heat,  and  the  abundant  seeds  and 
burs,  make  the  unwashed  California  wools  vei*y  dirty.  It  is 
claimed  in  the  East  that  the  spring  clip  shrinks,  in  scouring, 
sixty-seven  to  seventy  per  cent.,  and  the  fall  chp,  seventy-two 
to  seventy-five  per  cent.  California  wool  is  packed  in  com- 
pressed bales  in  its  uncleaned  state,  pressed  as  hard  as  a  block 
of  wood,  and  the  bales  bound  with  iron  hoops.  In  this  condi- 
tion it  is  shipped  East  for  sale.  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  other 
similar  wool,  when  received  for  sale  in  the  Eastern  market,  is 
opened  out  and  graded  ;  each  quality  being  piled  separately  in 
the  warehouse,  so  that  buyers  can  easily  examine  it.  California 
wool,  on  the  contrary,  is  kept  in  the  compressed  bales,  standing 
on  end,  with  the  burlap  cut  on  top  about  a  foot  in  leng-th  and 
width  to  expose  the  wool.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  a  buyer 
turning  from  looking  at  the  sightly  piles  of  bright  fleece-washed 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  wool  to  examine  California  wool  in  the 
condition  above  mentioned ;  perhaps  eighty  per  cent,  of  earth 
and  burs,  with  twenty  per  cent,  of  wool.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  eye  must  be  pleased  in  buying  raw  products,  as 
well  as  in  the  purchase  of  manufactured  goods. 

To  remedy  this,  seven  scouring  mills  have  been  erected  in 
San  Francisco,  which,  it  m  claimed,  effect  a  great  saving  to  the 
wool-growers.  To  illustrate,  we  will  take  one  hundred  pounds 
of  wool  in  San  Francisco,  costing  fifteen  cents  per  pound  in  its 
crude  state.  It  will  shrink  sixty- five  per  cent,  in  scouring, 
leaving  thirty-five  pounds  of  clean  wool,  which  would  cost  near 
forty-three  cents  per  pound.  The  same  wool  shipped  and 
scoured  in  the  East,  adding  freight — two  cents  per  pound — 
would  cost  seventeen  cents  per  pound,  or  near  forty-nine  cents 
per  pound,  scoured.  Add  freight — two  cents  per  pound — to  the 
San  Francisco  scoured  wool,  and  it  is  in  tlie  Eastern  market  at 
forty-five  cents  per  pound,  while  the  Eastern  scoured  costs 
forty-nine  cents,  a  difierence  of  four  cents  per  pound  in  favor 
of  San  Francisco. 


FOR   WOOL  AliTD   MUTTOX.  247 

Wool-growers  all  over  the  coast  could  materially  help  the  sale 
of  their  wool  by  being  a  httle  more  careful  in  sacking  all  dirty 
tag  locks,  of  which  there  are  always  more  or  less,  especially  in 
'*  year  fleeces  ;"  these  should  be  taken  off  before  the  fleece  is 
tied  up,  as  the  injury  to  the  price  is  always  more  than  the  gain 
in  weight.  Marking  with  tar  is  also  very  objectionable,  as  the 
ordinary  process  of  scouring  will  not  take  off  the  tar,  and  the 
locks  of  wool  to  which  it  is  attached  must  be  sorted  very  care- 
fully from  the  fleece,  and  as  they  are  almost  worthless,  manu- 
facturers must  so  figure  on  them  in  making  their  purchases. 

It  is  also  a  great  mistake  to  shear  and  sack  wool  when  it  is 
damp  with  the  spring  rains  ;  this  often  causes  mold,  and  a  loss 
of  several  cents  in  the  price  received  per  pound. 

Items. — The  amount  of  land  required  for  the  grazing  of  a 
sheep  is,  variously  estimated  by  different  shepherds,  from  two 
and  a  half  acres  to  four  acres  per  head,  even  on  the  rich  pas- 
tures of  Southern  California.  But  the  reader  should  bear  in 
mind  that  an  immense  quantity  of  grass  is  consumed  by  the 
ground-squirrels,  the  gophers  and  the  agricultural  ants,  which 
are  three  of  the  worst  pests  of  the  State. 

The  losses  from  all  causes — poisonous  weeds,  disease,  winter 
storms,  dogs  and  wild  animals — are  estimated  at  7.8  per  cent, 
yearly,  which  is  probably  an  underestimate.  One  owner,  with 
twelve  thousand,  one  hundred  and  fifty  sheep,  computed  his 
losses  from  coyotes  at  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  This,  not 
altogether  by  direct  slaughter,  but  also  by  the  corralling  which 
their  presence  compels,  which  causes  foul  wool  (bringing  a 
lower  price,  loss  of  condition,  and  the  engendering  of  disease.) 

Sheep  husbandry,  in  this  climate,  has  been  subject  to  great 
vicissitudes.  Thougli  very  healthy,  sheep  are  occasionally  laid 
waste  by  drought,  and  by  the  rapacity  of  man,  which  causes 
overstocking  of  the  pastures.  In  the  "  Government  Report,"  the 
losses  in  Southern  California,  in  1877,  are  placed  at  two  milhon, 
five  hundred  thousand.  In  the  winter  of  1881-2,  thousands  of 
lambs  fell  beneath  the  hammer-stroke  at  birth,  this  resort  being 
the  only  means  of  saving  the  mothers'  lives.  I  have  known 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  lambs  to  perish  in  a  cold  rain  in  the  Eel 
River  Mountains. 

A  Sample  Flock.— We  will  take  a  flock  in  Tehama  County, 
consisting  of  two  hundred  rams,  six  thousand  ewes,  seven  thou- 


248  THE   AMEEICAN   MERINO 

sand  wethers,  two  thousand,  lambs  ;  total,  fifteen  thousand,  two 
hundred, 

15,000  acres  of  land  leased,  at  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  $  3,750 

Equipment  in  vehicles,  haraess,  tools,  etc 300 

Four  horses,  worth 400 

Six  dogs,  worth 100 

Investment  in  plant '. 4,550 

Investment  in  flocks 31,000 

Grand  total  investment 35,550 

Six  men  employed  throughout  the  year,  at  $100  per 

month ;  tive,  at  §25  per  month  each,  board  included.      2,700 

At  bheariuo:  time,  five  extra  men  for  fifteen  days  at 
one  dollar  per  ciay  (to  serve  at  corrals,  handle 
and  prepare  all  for  shearers) $75 

Shearers,  at  five  cents  per  fleece  (13,000  fleeces  at  last 

shearing) 650 

725 

Total  expenses  for  labor 3,425 

78,000  pounds  of  wool  sold,  at  twenty-seven  cents  (1879)  $21,0B0 
1,000  wethers,  at  $2.50 2,5G0 

Total 23,560 

Yearly  outlay  (land  leased  and  interest  on  flocks) $  6,850 


But  the  average  profit  is  reckoned  at  sixty  cents  per  head. 

Hay  for  Sheep. — The  fine  native  grasses  of  North-eastern 
California  are  well  suited  for  sheep.  In  hauUng  hay  to  the 
stack,  or  barn,  some  farmers  use  racks  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
feet  long,  eight  to  ten  feet  wide  and  four  feet  high.  The  sides  are 
made  of  small  rods,  usually  willow,  placed  fourteen  to  sixteen 
incbes  apart.  They  are  made  in  this  manner  so  as  to  haul  short, 
fine  hay  and  to  be  able  to  work  in  windy  weather.  Tlie  other 
style  of  hay-rack  is  made  just  the  same,  except  the  sides  are  dis- 
pensed with  and  posts  are  put  up  at  each  corner  and  the  sides. 

In  Sien-a,  American,  Clover  and  Indian  valleys,  the  greater 
part  of  the  hay  is  put  into  bams,  some  of  which  are  large  enough 
to  hold  from  two  lumdred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  tons.  A 
great  many  of  these  barns  are  so  arranged  that  the  wagons  can 
be  unloaded  in  tlie  top  of  the  barns.  To  do  this  they  make  use 
of  a  drive-way,  in  the  form  of  an  inclined  plane,  by  which  the 
wagons  are  either  drawn  up  with  block  and  tackle  or  the  team 
is  driven  in  at  one  end  of  the  barn  and  out  at  the  other.  The 
sides  of  the  rack  are  frequently  fitted  with  hinges  so  they  can 


FOR   WOOL   AN^D   MUTTON".  249 

be  dropped  down  and  the  hay  pushed  off.  A  great  many  farm- 
ers use  the  Jackson  fork  and  Church  hay-carrier,  which  is  fixed 
to  run  at  the  peak  of  the  roof.  The  wagon  is  driven  across  the 
end  of  the  barn  or  through  the  middle,  crosswise.  The  hay  is 
carried  up  with  the  fork  to  the  carrier  and  then  run  back  into 
the  bam  and  unloaded  at  any  point  wished.  Excepting  in  those 
valleys  named,  the  great  bulk  of  the  hay  is  stacked,  in  some 
places  covered,  but  much  the  greater  part  is  not ;  the  average 
width  of  the  stacks  is  twenty  feet,  the  length,  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet,  the  height,  before  it  set- 
tles, is  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet.  By  far  the  greater  part  of 
the  stacking  is  now  done  by  horse-power  ;  either  the  Jackson 
fork  is  used  with  a  derrick,  or  nets,  either  rolling  or  lifting  ;  but 
the  latter  kind  is  most  frequently  used. 

The  Winters'  patent  net  and  derrick  has  been  partially  intro- 
duced in  Lassen  and  Modoc  Counties  during  the  past  two  years. 
Its  mode  of  operation  is  to  use  two  half-nets  in  the  wagon  rack 
and  lift  out  each  one  separately,  swing  around  on  the  stack,  and 
drop  the  load  by  opening  the  net  in  the  center. 

Nevada. — Northern  Nevada  presented,  originally,  a  very  fair 
opening  to  the  sheep-breeder  and  grazier  ;  there  were  fine  ranges 
of  bunch-grass,  sand-grass,  white  sage,  and  stretches  of  meadow 
furnishing  a  varied  and  profuse  feed  of  wire,  red-top  and  rye 
grasses,  with  tolerable  supplies  of  water.  In  the  south  the 
deserts  were  skirted  with  sand,  bunch  and  gietta  grasses  and 
stunted  white  sage  ;  but  water  was  scarce.  When  the  vast  over- 
flow of  stock  from  California  occurred  in  1870,  in  consequence 
of  drought,  all  these  ranges  were  greatly  overstocked  and  the 
pasturage  injured.  In  a  single  drive  in  the  south,  eight  thou- 
sand sheep  perished  from  thirst  in  five  days.  On  many  places 
the  seed  was  eaten  up  and  the  grasses  entirely  disappeared,  the 
greasewood  and  other  shrubs  were  stunted,  and  on  wide  areas 
the  valuable  white  sage  was  wholly  extirpated. 

Nevada,  Utah  and  Idaho  are  alike  in  this,  that  their  elevated 
summer  ranges  are  capable  of  "  carrying  "  more  stock  than  can 
be  supported  by  the  natural  herbage  of  such  lowlands  and  val- 
leys as  are  suitable  for  winter  grazing.  This  compels  winter 
feeding. 

Systems  of  Management. — These  may  be  divided  into  the 
nomadic,  the  semi-nomadic  and  the  fixed.  In  the  nomadic 
system  the  shepherd  slowly  works  the  band  in  at  sunset  to 
some  spring  sufficing  for  himself  and  horse  ;  and,  if  the  weather 


350  THE    A.MERICAN"   MERINO 

is  clear,  he  simply  "  rounds  up "  or  assembles  the  sheep  on  a 
level  stretch  of  ground,  assisted  by  one  or  more  mongrel  dogs 
common  in  Nevada,  called  "  shepherd  dogs."  The  herder  sleeps 
by  the  flock.  Aroused  by  the  continual  barking  of  the  walch- 
ful  dogs,  he  may  find  the  flock  scattered  by  the  approach  of  a 
coyote  ;  or,  chilled  by  a  sudden  storm  of  drifting  snow,  they 
may  have  moved  off  in  a  solid  body.  Without  a  corral  he  can- 
not hold  the  flock  in  a  storm ;  they  will  ' '  drift "  until  a  lull 
occurs,  or  they  reach  some  protecting  depression,  or  huddle 
behind  a  knoll.  In  their  blind  efforts  to  escape  the  cold,  they 
may  crowd  into  a  gulch  or  a  "dry  wash,"  and  large  numbers  be 
suffocated.  Even  if  the  shepherd  should  happen  to  have  a  sage- 
brush corral,  unless  the  direction  of  the  wind  was  toward  the 
opening,  he  could  not  force  the  sheep  to  enter. 

Lambing  and  Shearing. — These  are  over  about  the  last  of 
May.  If  some  stationary  sheep-man  near  by  has  a  set  of  dip- 
ping-vats, they  are  hired  for  the  use  of  the  nomadic  flock  ;  or, 
more  commonly,  the  nomadic  flocks  are  simply  anointed  with 
grease  and  mercurial  ointment ;  or,  perhaps,  not  treated  at  all. 
All  classes  of  the  sheep,  except  the  rams,  are  now  moved  off 
together  to  the  summer  ranges.  About  the  25th  of  September 
another  shearing  occurs  ;  for,  with  few  exceptions,  semi-annual 
shearings  prevail  in  Western  Nevada. 

More  Permanent  Systems. — Where  some  land  is  held  in  fee- 
simple,  or  by  squatter's  right,  this  forms  a  winter  headquarters  ; 
and  frequently  there  are  fenced  fields  here  for  meadow  and  for 
winter  ranging  for  ewes  and  lambs.  The  allowance  of  hay  is 
about  one  pound  and  three-quarters  a  day  per  lamb.  In  1879-80 
feed  had  to  be  given  about  six  months,  on  account  of  the 
unusual  severity  of  the  winter.  Some  winters  none  at  all  is 
required. 

The  movements  to  and  from  summer  ranges  are  about  the 
same  as  above  detailed. 

Wool  and  Mutton. — The  American  Merino  is  deemed  the 
best  breed  for  the  climate  and  pasture  of  Nevada,  though  the 
best  flock-masters  do  not  desire  to  go  beyond  a  three-fourths  or 
seven-eighths  grade.  Many  flocks  have  reached  this  standard, 
and  show  good  handling.  The  close  fleece  of  the  Merino  is  a 
protection  against  the  storms,  and  is  less  liable  to  be  pulled  out 
by  the  knaggy  shrubs  of  the  mountains  than  is  the  long  wool 
of  the  English  breeds.  Besides,  the  latter  are  not  adapted  to 
these  arid  wastes  and  the  alkali  dust ;  they  become  lank  ;  they 


FOR   TVOOL  AXD   MUTTOJq-.  251 

cannot  endure  the  close  herding  ;  their  descendents  steadily  fall 
off  both  in  size  and  weight  of  fleece.  The  American  Merino 
does  better  than  the  French  Merino  of  Southern  California. 

The  oftener  sheep  are  changed  from  one  pasture  to  another, 
and  the  less  frequently  they  are  corraled  or  camped  on  the  same 
ground — Uttered  with  their  droppings — the  better  will  be  their 
condition.  Even  the  Merinos  are  very  susceptible  to  disease 
when  herded  in  such  large  flocks  as  are  necessary  under  the 
present  systems. 

The  scab  acarus,  or  insect,  seems  to  lurk  in  tufts  of  wool, 
bushes,  or  sticks — even  in  the  manure,  where  sheep  infested 
with  it  have  been  assembled  a  munber  of  times.  An  instance 
is  mentioned  where  a  corral  was  occupied  by  scabby  sheep  in 
June,  then  remained  untenanted  until  October,  when  some 
rams  in  perfect  health  were  kept  in  it  for  a  few  nights,  and 
were  observed  to  sleep  frequently  in  a  corner  where  the  sweep- 
ings of  the  shearing-table  had  been  thrown.  They  contracted 
the  scab  in  such  malignant  form  that  they  had  to  be  dipped, 
though  they  had  not  come  in  contact  with  any  affected  sheep. 

Where  the  sheep  are  well  graded  up  and  kept  in  even  condi- 
tion through  the  year,  the  wool  is  as  good  as  that  of  California. 
The  average  of  the  State  is  given  thus  :  Rams,  thirteen  pounds  ; 
wethers,  seven  and  three-quarter  pounds  ;  ewes,  six  and  a  half 
pounds  ;  yearlings,  five  and  a  quarter  pounds,  when  shorn  only 
once  a  year.  Mutton  sheep  average  one  hundred  pounds,  live 
weight ;  fifty  pounds,  dressed. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 
SYSTEMS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  Continued. 

Oregon— Introduction  of  the  Myrinos.— Tlie  Hon.  John 
Minto,  of  Marion  County,  Oregon,  furnished  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  a  very  complete  history  of  the  in- 
troduction of  the  various  breeds  of  sheep  into  that  State,  from 
which  I  extract  a  few  items.  The  first  Merinos  were  brought 
to  Oregon  in  1848  by  Mr.  Joseph  Watt,  of  Amity ;  there  were 
seven  pure  Saxons  and  six  high-grade  Americans.  Others  were 
brought,  in  1851,  by  Hiram  Smith  ;  in  18»4,  by  Dr.  Talmie  ;  in 


252  THE   AMEEICAN   MERIK"0 

1858,  by  Martin  Jesse — the  last  named  being  McArthur  Austra- 
lian Merinos,  imported  into  San  Francisco  by  J.  H.  Williams, 
the  United  States  consul  at  Sydney.  In  1880,  Rockwell  and 
Jones  imported  some  pure-blood  Merinos  from  Vermont.  In 
1861,  Donald  McLeod  brought  one  hundred  and  fifty  thorough- 
bred Merinos  from  Vermont  across  the  plains.  After  that  date, 
large  numbers  of  pure  American  Merinos  and  some  very  fine 
French  Merinos  were  brought  to  Oregon  by  different  parties. 

California  and  Oregon,  from  their  differences  in  cHmate,  are, 
to  a  certain  extent,  supplementary  to  each  other.  In  disastrous 
years  of  drought  the  sheep  are  driven  out  of  California,  and  the 
following  seasons  they  flow  back.  In  1850,  1851  and  1861,  the 
movement  was  toward  the  Southern  State,  eighty  thousand 
going  over  from  Willamette  valley  alone.  For  several  years 
after  1864,  California  sent  sheep  to  Oregon. 

Conditions  and  Modes  of  Sheep  Husbandry. — From  a  very- 
able  paper  contributed  by  Hon.  John  IVIinto  to  the  Willamette 
Farmer,  I  extract  the  following  paragraphs  : 

"From  east  of  the  Cascades  to  Western  Kansas,  and  from 
Middle  Texas  to  Alaska,  is  all  clothing  wool  country,  for  which 
the  Improved  American  Merino  is  the  best  known  breed.  The 
portion  of  coast  moistened  by  the  winds  of  the  Pacific,  now  oc- 
cupied as  wheat  fields,  needs,  as  I  have  indicated,  something 
approaching  English  methods  of  husbandry,  both  as  to  wheat 
and  sheep,  to  make  it  carry  combing-wool  sheep." 

***** 

'*  Western  Oregon  can  excel,  both  in  long  combing  and  in 
fine  clothing  wools  ;  but  our  experience  proves  that  combing 
wool  sheep  require  constant  care  on  the  part  of  the  owners,  to 
keep  them  in  proper  condition.  There  are  a  few  localities  in 
Western  Oregon  of  which  this  is  not  true.  There  are  a  few 
ranges,  of  limited  extent,  that  are  better  adapted  to  long  wooled 
sheep  than  to  any  other.  There  are  also  farmers  who  so  keep 
their  flock,  under  conditions  generally  not  favorable,  that  they 
bring  to  market  a  very  good  article  of  combing  wool.  But  such 
are  exceptional  men  at  present.  The  general  condition  of  the 
climate  of  Western  Oregon,  and  the  pasturage  furnished  either 
naturally  or  by  the  help  of  the  farmer,  are  such  that  there  is  a 
steady  deterioration  from  an  average  standard  of  Cotswold, 
Leicester,  or  New  Oxford  sheep.  The  flock  grows  gradually 
more  and  more  leggy  in  appearance  ;  the  wool  becomes  shorter, 
drier  and  less  lustrous  ;  and  in  many  cases  the  sheep,  while  com- 


FOR   WOOL   AK'D   MUTTOTq".  253 

paratively  young,  lose  considerable  of  this  wool  before  ordinary 
shearing  time." 


* 


*'It  is  found,  in  practice,  that  in  a  flock  of  mixed  breeds 
the  long-wooled  keep  on  the  outside  of  the  others  in  search 
of  feed.  Observation  proves  that  when  the  short-jointed, 
round-bodied  Merino  grade,  weighing  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  live  weight,  has  fed  to  its  satisfaction  and  is  ready  to 
lie  down,  the  long-wooled,  weighing  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds,  has  not  had  feed  according  to  the  requirements  of  its 
nature  and  size,  and,  in  consequence,  is  restless  at  camping 
time.  During  feeding  hours,  such  sheep  require  the  constant 
care  of  the  herder  to  prevent  them  from  leading  the  flock  to 
daily  travel  faster  and  further  than  is  good  for  it.  Then,  when 
the  season  renders  it  difficult  for  a  medium  sized  sheep  to  get  a 
fair  living — a  condition  suitable  to  growing  fine  wool  of  the 
best  quality — the  combing- wool  sheep  is  not  getting  the  amount 
of  feed  necessary  to  keep  Its  wool  in  healthy  growth,  so  both 
wool  and  sheep  are  deteriorating.  On  fresh  range  this  is  not 
the  case,  and  for  awhile  a  very  good  staple  of  long-wool  can  be 
grown  on  such  range,  but  the  causes  I  have  indicated  very  soon 
begin  to  operate,  with  results  that  fully  justify  the  wool-grow- 
ers for  breeding  more  and  more  towards  the  clothing-wool 
sheep." 

It  is  Mr.  Minto's  opinion  that  sheep  husbandry  in  Oregon  is 
not  so  well  conducted  as  it  was  in  the  earlier  years  of  that  in- 
dustry, when  the  pastures  were  fresh  and  were  devoted  entirely 
to  the  flocks  and  herds.  Since  wheat  farming  has  assumed  a 
commanding  importance,  many  farmers  keep  their  sheep  chiefly 
as  gleaners  of  the  stubble  and  to  rid  the  fallow  of  wild  oats,  sor- 
rel and  other  weeds,  where  they  frequently  suffer  for  water ; 
and  in  consequence  of  this,  and  short  feed  during  the  succeeding 
winter,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  deterioration  and  dryness  of 
fleece. 

Effect  of  Alkali  on  the  Fiber. — In  Eastern  publications  ref- 
erence is  frequently  made  to  the  assumedly  established  fact  that 
a  great  deal  of  the  wool  grown  west  of  the  hundredth  meridian 
is  weakened  by  the  alkali  which  prevails  more  or  less  in  the  soil 
over  a  great  portion  of  the  Far  West.  This  may,  or  it  may  not, 
be  "  trade  capital "  with  the  Jewish  and  other  w^ool-commission 
houses.  Any  dust  in  the  fleece,  alkaline  or  other,  is  injurious 
to  it,  from  the  dryness  and  friction,  which  causes  the  rough- 


254  THE   AMERICAN^  MERIN^O 

ening  and  discoloration  of  the  fiber.  But  that  the  presence  of 
alkali  in  the  wool  produces  any  deleterious  chemical  effect  is, 
at  least,  as  a  Scotch  jury  would  say,  "  not  proven." 

To  test  this  matter  thoroughly,  Mr.  Thomas  T.  Lang,  of  Rock- 
vUle,  Oregon,  instituted  a  careful  and  extensive  series  of  exper- 
iments by  rubbing  alkaline  soil  upon  the  sheep  and  into  the 
fleece,  taking  care,  in  the  meantime,  however,  to  keep  the  slieep 
in  a  thorouglily  good  and  thriving  condition.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Wool  Manufadurers^  Bulletin,  of  Boston,  after  describing  his 
experiments,  he  states  that  "  the  dirt  was  scoured  out,  leaving  a 
sound,  strong  fiber."  It  is  true,  as  he  asserts  in  this  communi- 
cation, that  "  the  character  of  wool  is  dependent  upon  the  graz- 
ing facihties  ;  its  strength  dependmg  upon  the  continued  pro- 
gressive character  of  the  economy  of  each  sheep."  In  support 
of  this  proposition,  which  can  be  corroborated  by  hundreds  of 
shepherds  out  of  their  own  experience,  he  mentions  that  on 
February  10,  1879,  there  came  eighteen  inches  of  snow,  which 
lay  on  the  ground  for  fourteen  days,  more  or  less.  Two  flocks, 
that  he  had  at  a  distance  from  home,  went  without  feed  the 
most  of  this  time,  and  after  the  snow  melted  and  they  began  to 
find  fresh  grass  in  abundance,  the  fleeces  slipped  off  of  them,  a 
joint  having  been  formed  by  their  long  fast.  Of  course,  no 
alkah  had  been  flying  for  some  months,  and  no  part  of  this  re- 
sult could  be  attributed  to  its  effects. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  present  some  opposing  testimony.  From 
advance  chapters  of  Wade's  "  Wool  Facts,"  printed  in  the  Amer- 
ican Sheep-breeder,  I  take  the  following  - 

"Dead  tip  is  prevalent  in  all  Merino  wools,  if  the  sheep  are 
kept  in  immense  flocks,  even  if  grown  in  countries  where  past- 
ure is  fairly  good — that  is,  a  continuous  sod.  The  rains,  to 
which  large  flocks  are  subject,  will  by  long  continuance  destroy 
the  yolk  on  the  outer  surface  of  the  fleece,  and  the  wear  and 
tear  by  rubbing  together  will  destroy  the  natural  lubricant,  and 
decay  at  once  sets  in.  Dead  tip  is  simply  wool  which  is  de- 
cayed, or  rather  from  which  the  life  has  departed.  While  this 
wool,  or  rather  the  tip,  will  scour  easy,  it  will  not  retahi  the 
dye  which  it  readily  takes,  and  it  is  a  source  of  great  unevcn- 
ness  in  fine,  solid-colored,  face-finished  goods,  as  the  color, 
even  of  indigo,  is  removed  by  finishing,  and  the  surface  has  a 
gray  appearance  when  shaded  across  the  face  of  the  goods. 
The  French  and  English  manufacturers  must  have  learned  this 
fact,  for  we  do  not  see  this  defect  in  their  finest  goods,  which 
are  very  uniform. 


FOR  WOOL  Aiq"D    MUTTOX.  255' 

*'  It  is  in  our  territorial  wools  that  dead  tip  is  most  prevalent. 
It  is  most  common  in  the  regions  where  bunch  grass  is  the 
native  growth.  Where  there  is  bunch  grass  there  is  bare 
ground,  and  where  there  is  bare  ground  there  will  be  imperfect 
wool.  The  yolk  is  the  natural  protector  of  wool,  and  will  turn 
rain  if  unmixed  by  other  substances,  but  when  dirt  falls  on  the 
sheep  and  intermixes  with  the  yolk  in  the  wool  it  will  absorb 
moisture — that  is,  the  dust  will  absorb  the  moisture,  and  by  re- 
maining moist  will  destroy  the  yolk  or  animal  grease  to  the 
extent  that  it  penetrates.  In  some  localities,  where  flocks  are 
large  and  exposure  great,  this  penetrates  to  the  skin  of  the 
sheep  and  frowsy  wool  is  the  result.  Frowsy  wool  is  that 
which  has  lost  its  nature,  thereby  destroying  both  the  luster 
and  felting  properties,  the  animal  grease  having  been  driven 
from  it  or  consumed  by  the  dirt  with  which  it  is  loaded,  leaving 
the  wool  tender  and  freed  from  all  that  gives  it  its  strength, 
and  that  which  gives  it  its  value  as  a  material  for  clothing, 
either  for  the  sheep  or  the  human  family." 

The  only  remedy  for  this  would  seem  to  be  the  cultivation  of 
tame  grasses  and  a  close  sod. 

Beasts  of  Prey. — Old  shepherds  have  acquired  much  skill 
in  tracing  and  trapping  the  various  beasts  and  birds  which  prey 
on  their  flocks,  If  an  eagle  has  done  the  work,  there  will  be  no 
large  bones  broken  in  the  carcass  ;  the  flesh  will  be  torn  off  in 
a  ragged  way,  and  there  will  nearly  always  be  a  few  large, 
downy  feathers  lying  about.  If  the  ground  is  soft,  coyotes  and 
wild  cats  will  leave  their  tracks  in  the  mud.  Panthers  and 
grizzly  bears  generally  carry  off  the  carcass,  and  cover  up  what- 
ever may  be  left,  with  grass  or  leaves.  Coyotes  and  wild  cats 
catch  lambs  by  the  head  or  throat ;  after  a  coyote  has  visited 
the  flock  at  night,  ten  or  fifteen  lambs  will  frequently  be  found 
dead ;  bitten  through  the  top  of  the  head,  perhaps,  or  a  hole 
cut  through  the  side  to  the  heart  and  entrails.  The  coyote  is  a 
most  fastidious  and  gratuitous  assassin  ;  he  either  slaughters 
many  more  than  he  requires,  or  else  he  wishes  only  a  few  quaffs 
of  blood  warm  from  the  heart  of  each  victim. 

After  much  experimenting  with  various  traps  and  poisons, 
strychnine  has  been  found  to  be  the  most  efficacious  for  all 
classes  of  carnivora.  The  best  way  to  handle  it  is  to  cut  the 
meat  into  mouthfuls,  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg,  and  put  a 
grain  or  less  of  strychnine  in  a  very  small  bit  of  tissue  paper, 
which,  when  rolled  up,  is  no  larger  than  a  grain  of  wheat. 
Then  pour  a  little  melted  lard  over  them  ;  cut  a  hole  to  the 


256  THE   AMERICA:!^   MERIXO 

center  of  each  piece  of  meat,  and  then  push  a  paper  of  poison 
in  deep  and  close  up  the  orifice.  In  this  way  the  meat  will  not 
be  made  bitter  by  the  strychnine,  and  the  animal  will  not  be 
deterred  from  swallowing  it.  The  shepherd  prepares  forty  or 
fifty  baits  this  way,  and  thrusts  a  sharp  stick  into  each.  Late 
in  the  afternoon  he  starts  out,  dragging  with  one  hand  a  beef's 
or  hog's  * '  pluck  "  on  the  ground  in  a  wide  circle,  and  carrying 
the  baits  with  the  other.  Every  hundred  yards  or  so  he  sets  a 
stick  in  the  ground,  which  holds  the  bait  a  few  inches  above  the 
surface,  where  the  beasts  will  find  it  readily.  Even  if  no  car- 
casses are  found,  the  quiet  which  reigns  in  the  flock  for  several 
weeks  gives  the  shepherd  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  poison 
has  done  good  work. 

General  Remarks. — ^Under  very  close  pasturing  with  sheep, 
some  kinds  of  wild  grasses  quickly  disappear  ;  but  other  plants 
— especially  the  alfileria,  volunteer  in  place  of  them ;  and  if 
nature  is  assisted  a  little  with  some  seeds  of  white  clover,  nar- 
row-leaved plantain  (rib  grass)  or  other  good  forage  plants,  a 
pasture  will  be  created  better  than  the  original. 

The  average  annual  loss  among  adult  sheep — ^from  various 
causes,  is  placed  at  11.08  per  cent.  The  diseases  which  prevail 
in  Oregon  are  scab,  fluke  disease  (locally  called  "leeches,"  and 
treated  with  charcoal  and  salt),  "blind  staggers,"  "scours" 
(locally,  alum  and  wheat  bran  are  given).  To  prevent  the  at- 
tacks of  the  sheep  gad-fly,  the  Oregon  flock-master  bores  two- 
inch  holes  in  a  large  log  and  throws  salt  into  them,  with  tar 
smeared  at  the  top ;  the  sheep  in  licking  the  salt  smear  their 
noses  with  the  tar. 

One  method  of  preparing  wethers  for  market  is  to  let  them 
run  on  the  green  wheat — which  is  very  rank  in  the  fall  and 
winter — until  midwinter  or  thereabout ;  then  finish  them  off 
with  bright,  green  hay,  cut  in  the  blossom,  and  a  daily  feed  of 
about  a  pint  of  oats  and  two  ounces  of  wheat  per  head.  They 
do  not  injure  the  wheat,  which  at  harvest  will  look  as  well  as 
that  which  was  not  depastured,  and  yield  thirty  bushels  per 
acre. 

Merinos  from  California  and  Australia  are  found  to  be  more 
hardy  and  prolific  than  those  from  Vermont,  doubtless  because 
they  are  already  acclimated.  In  Oregon — as  nearly  everywhere 
in  the  Far  West — a  sheep  above  a  three-fourths  or  seven-eighths 
grade  of  Menno  is  not  desired. 

The  average  clip  per  liead  is  about  the  same  as  in  California. 
It  is  stated  that  sheep  reared  to  maturity  m  Western  Oregon 


FOR   WOOL   AXD    MUTTON'.  257 

and  then  removed  to  Eastern  Oregon,  will  Increase  their  yield 

of  \TOOl. 

Washington  Territory. — The  natural  grasses  and  forage 
plants  are  rye  grass,  bunch  grass,  goose  grass,  four  or  five  kinds 
of  slough  grass,  blue-joint,  cane  grass,  alfileria,  white  sage,  wil- 
low, ross,  grease  wood  and  broom  sage,  besides  rushes  in  wet 
land. 

Sheep  in  Washington  Territory  have  encountered  bitter  oppo- 
sition from  the  cattle-men.  ''  A  band  of  scabby  sheep  at  every 
watering-place";  "Cattle  owners  running  from  a  pestilence 
— sheep  " — are  the  phrases  one  encounters.  The  original  stock 
were  the  so-called  ' '  native "  sheep  of  Oregon,  bred  up  from 
Cahfornia  sources  to  Merinos.  W^ithin  the  last  twenty  years 
many  full-blood  Merino  rams  have  been  brought  in  from  Cali- 
fornia and  Vermont. 

Rams  run  in  the  flocks  from  November  1st  to  Christmas,  in 
about  the  same  proportion  as  everywhere  under  the  careless 
husbandry  of  the  Far  West ;  from  two  to  three  rams  to  the 
hundred  ewes.  Lambing  is  in  April  and  May  ;  shearing,  in  Ma\' 
and  June. 

In  winter  the  flocks  are  generally  close-herded  where  there 
is  both  feed  and  shelter.  Some  hay  is  stacked  for  severe 
weather,  and  they  are  corraled  at  night.  During  summer — 
until  the  grass  dries  up  on  the  plains — they  range  at  large,  a 
herder  with  each  flock.  When  the  shearing  is  finished  and  the 
prairie  pasture  exhausted,  they  are  driven  to  the  mountains. 

Scab  is  very  prevalent  south  of  Snake  River,  and  is  the  only 
troublesome  disease.  The  losses  aze  caused  mainly  by  scarcity 
of  feed,  winter  exposure  and  wild  animals.  The  estimated 
average  annual  loss  of  adult  sheep  is  twelve  per  cent. 

Sheep  in  the  "Chinook."— Sometimes  there  falls  a  sudden 
and  deep  snow,  attaining  the  depth  of  even  two  feet.  Horses 
on  the  hills  come  down  to  the  bunch  grass  and  obtain  feed  in 
abundance  by  pawing :  cattle  browse  on  greasewood,  willows 
and  sage ;  but  the  sheep  huddle  helplessly  under  the  junipers 
and  refuse  to  venture  forth.  But  when  the  storm  is  ended,  a 
mass  of  white  clouds  will  be  seen  flying  overhead  ;  on  the  west- 
em  horizon  is  a  bank  of  dark-blue  clouds ;  and  fitful  gusts  of 
wind — now  warm,  now  cold  (the  welcome  "  chinook"  ) — begin 
to  blo.w  frcm  the  west.  The  patient  sheep  smell  the  salt  m  the 
air  ;  they  h  ok  up  at  the  jumpers  overhead,  which  now  and  then 
throw  off  a  load  of  snow  from  their  benamg  boughs  upon  their 


258'  THE   AMERICAN  MEEIKO 

backs.  In  the  afternoon  they  scatter  over  the  liills,  wherever 
the  snow,  being  thinner,  has  already  disappeared ;  soon  every 
ravine,  valley  and  canon  is  roaring  with  snow-water ;  a  Japa- 
nese spring  is  at  the  doors  ;  and  in  a  day  or  two  the  snow  has 
wholly  disappeared. 

Idaho. — The  grasses  and  herbage  in  this  Territory  are  about 
the  same  as  those  mentioned  for  Washington.  The  sheep  have 
been  brought  in  mostly  from  California  and  Oregon  on  the  west, 
and  Utah  on  the  east  and  south.  The  American  Merino  blood 
has  steadily  gained  on  the  British  and  Mexican,  as  it  was  found 
better  adapted  to  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  than  any  other, 
until  now  the  majority  of  the  flocks  in  Idaho  are  from  three- 
fourths  to  seven-eighths  Merino. 

Flocks  generally  number  about  fifteen  hundred  ;  it  is  unprofit- 
able to  employ  a  man  to  care  for  a  smaller  number,  while  a  larger 
flock  would  scatter  and  become  more  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
eagles,  coyotes,  mountain  lions  and  wild  cats.  From  May  to 
July  they  are  moving  up  into  the  hills,  where  the  grass  and 
water  are  in  more  abundant  supply  ;  from  September  to  Novem- 
ber they  are  working  slowly  down  to  the  plains  and  meadows. 
They  are  not  corraled  except  for  shearing,  dipping  or  counting. 
Blooded  rams  have  sheds  within  a  pasture,  and  for  about  six 
weeks  before  service  begins  they  receive  hay,  oats  and  perhaps 
roots.  They  run  with  the  ewes  at  night  from  November  15th 
to  January  1st,  to  bring  on  lambing  in  April.  The  lambing 
season  is  earlier  in  Western  Central  Idaho,  though  attended 
with  risks  ;  the  object  being  to  secure  early  mutton  lambs  and 
strong  growth  for  those  destined  to  be  wintered. 

Hay  is  cut  from  fenced  "  claims  "  and  wheat  "  in  the  dough," 
to  cure  for  winter  feeding  ;  it  is  given  mostly  to  ewes  and  lambs 
when  snow  lies  long  on  the  ground — an  infrequent  occurrence. 
Grown  sheep  receive  three  to  three  and  a  half  pounds  of  hay  per 
day  ;  lambs,  one  and  a  half  to  two  pounds.  Some  wheat  straw 
is  given  to  them,  but  it  is  found  too  constipating  for  continued 
use. 

Severe  storms  early  in  April  and  late  in  October,  followed  by 
cold,  while  the  fleeces  are  saturated  with  moisture,  are  a  draw- 
back to  sheep  husbandry  in  the  western  part  of  Idalio.  In  this 
region  the  annual  loss  among  adult  sheep  is  estimated  at  fifteen 
per  cent.  ;  and  at  five  per  cent,  from  storms,  and  ten  per  cent, 
from  wild  animals  and  dogs.  For  the  whole  Territory,  the  loss 
is  estimated  at  ten  per  cent.     The  loss  from  disease  is  two  per 


FOR  WOOL  AKD   MUTTOJS".  259 

cent.  ;  from  storms,  four  per  cent.  ;  wild  animals,  three  per 
cent.  ;  poisonous  weeds  and  snake-bites,  one  per  cent.  As  in  all 
these  mining  regions  of  the  West,  there  is  a  small  local  demand 
for  mutton  for  mining  towns  and  camps  and  for  military  gar- 
risons. It  is  said  that  the  Indians  on  the  reservations  refuse 
mutton. 

Montana.— This  vast  Territory  has  a  climate  which,  though  at 
times  very  severe  on  the  elevated  ranges,  is  generally  favorable 
for  sheep,  being  softened  by  the  friendly  "chinook"  blowing 
over  from  the  Japanese  Kiiro  Siwo,  or  warm  stream.  There  is  a 
great  extent  of  good  average  grazing,  consisting  principally  of 
the  bunch  grasses,  of  which  the  most  highly  esteemed  kinds  are 
the  Boutelona  oligostachya  and  the  B.  Jursuta,  the  buffalo  grass 
{Buchloe  dactyloides),  red-top,  wild  rye,  blue-joint,  and  wild 
oats.  Greasewood  and  white  sage  are  hardly  known  north  and 
west  of  Judith  Valley.  The  grass  does  not  grow — with  the  ex- 
ception of  that  on  moist  or  wet  lands — more  than  about  four 
months  of  the  year.  A  peculiar  feature  of  the  bunch  grass  of 
Montana  is  that  while  it  is  apparently  cured  early  in  the  season, 
from  the  latter  part  of  July  to  the  middle  of  August,  when  the 
range  presents  the  brownish-gray  appearance  of  dead  grass,  a 
close  inspection  shows  about  three  or  four  inches  of  green  and 
growing  grass  near  the  gi'ound,  which  possesses  surprising 
strength  and  nourishing  qualities,  while  the  top  portion,  having 
cured  early  and  during  the  dry  season,  retains  all  its  original 
strength.  The  grass  remains  in  this  condition  until  the  frosts 
and  snows  of  December  appear. 

Montana  may  be  considered  as  preeminently  the  home  of  the 
bunch  grass,  as  California  is  of  the  fileree,  New  Mexico  of  the 
grama,  Arizona  of  the  gietta,  Texas  of  the  mesquite,  and  the 
Missouri  Valley  of  the  buffalo  grass. 

It  is  only  ten  years  since  the  first  sheep  were  brought  into 
Montana,  and  last  year  the  wool  clip  was  over  three  million 
pounds.  The  cUmate  gives  the  finest  fiber  to  the  wool,  and  the 
sheep  seem  hardy  and  healthy.  Last  year  the  deaths  were  only 
two  per  cent,  in  the  floc^ks.     Many  of  the  ewes  have  twins. 

Some  of  the  owners  of  the  larger  flocks  may  be  mentioned : 
Geo.  Myers  &  Bro.,  Perkins  Russel,  Poindexter  &  Orr,  J.  M. 
Sharpe,  Crane,  Headly  &  Co.,  McClintock  &  Dowd.  The  sheep 
owned  by  Paris  Gibson  &  Son  are  o2  the  Campbell  stock,  oli 
Vermont,  noted  for  their  long  or  cielaine  wool,  and  their  free- 
dom from  gum  and  black-top.     Indeed,  this  is  more  or  less 


260  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

characteristic  of  Montana  flocks  in  general.  And  it  has  been 
found  by  experienced  flock-masters  that,  to  withstand  most 
successfully  the  severe  cold  of  that  region,  the  sheep  should  be 
comparatively  free  from  wrinkles  and  yolk. 

It  is  the  testimony  of  an  experienced  flock-master  that  tracts 
of  land  upon  and  around  which  his  sheep  had  been  corraled 
until  they  were  so  dry  and  bare  that  the  dust  raised  by  the 
sheep  could  be  seen  a  mile  distant,  next  spring,  much  to  his 
surprise,  were  covered  with  bunch  grass  thicker  and  stronger 
than  ever  before,  the  bunches  being  closer  together.  Yet  there 
is  much  variation  in  this  respect  in  different  parts  of  Montana  ; 
in  some  places  the  stock,  particularly  cattle,  pull  up  much 
valuable  grass  by  the  roots. 

Management  op  Flocks. — This  is  much  the  same  as  that 
heretofore  described  for  Oregon  and  California,  with  variations 
to  adapt  it  to  the  colder  climate  and  ruder  civilization  of  this 
inland  region.  Medium,  rather  than  very  fine-wooled  sheep,  are 
considered  most  profitable.  The  wool  is  remarkably  free  from 
burs  and  dirt ;  and  the  sheep  are  very  healthy,  though  the  scab 
is  prevalent  and  requires  the  same  rigorous  treatment  for  its 
eradication  as  elsewhere.  Some  hay  and  shelter  are  provided 
for  winter.  Fresh  pasture  is  reserved  for  ewes  in  the  lambing 
season,  which  comes  the  last  of  April  and  in  May.  Shearing  is 
done  without  jDrevious  washing,  and  dipping  follows  shearing. 

The  sheep  of  Montana,  being  largely  of  Cahfornia  origin,  arc 
generally  good ;  they  will  average  above  one-half  Merino  in 
grade  ;  are  valued  at  about  three  dollars  a  head  as  wool-pro- 
ducers ;  wethers,  three  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents.  At  ma- 
turity the  mutton  sheep  weighs  one  hundred  and  five  pounds, 
live  weight ;  fifty-two  pounds,  dressed. 

Grub  in  the  head  and  "dropsy"  are  sources  of  limited  loss. 
W.  H.  Peck,  of  Fort  Maginnis,  in  a  recent  letter,  says  :  "  Abou!; 
two  weeks  ago,  I  had  about  three  hundred  sheep  poisoned  by 
some  poisonous  weed.  I  succeeded  in  saving  all  but  three  by 
bleeding  them,  and  giving  each  sheep  two  tablespoon fals 
of  vinegar.  My  experience  may  help  some  one  else  out."  What 
the  poison  was,  Mr.  Peck  does  not  state. 

The  Montana  Wool-Growers'  Association  Bulletin  gives  the 
following  advice  as  to  the  pre  para  Lion  of  wool  for  market : 

"  Good,  clean  bags  should  be  used  ;  those  known  as  ''  machine 
sewel"  have  closer  seams  and  keep  tho  wool  cleanest.  Plenty 
of  good,  strong  twino  should  be  ready  at  shearing  time,  thus 


FOR  WOOL  AND  ML'TTOIT. 


261 


Id 

o 

n 

H 

W 


262  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

avoiding  the  necessity  of  using  strands  of  rope,  strips  of  bark, 
and  such  substitutes,  'because  the  twine  gave  out.'  It  would 
be  well  if  growers  would  pack  their  buck,  and  also  the  very 
coarse  fleeces,  each  by  themselves  ;  probably,  however,  the  pres- 
ent practice  of  packing  all  together  may  give  the  grower  some 
slight  advantage  over  the  buyer  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  separate 
packing  will  finally  be  generally  adopted.  When  scab  is  all 
through  a  band,  it  is  hardly  of  any  use  to  try  to  sej)arate  the  best 
from  the  worst  ;  but  where  there  is  only  a  percentage  of  scabby 
fleeces  they  should  be  packed  by  themselves,  as  their  presence 
among  the  sound  wool  will  perhaps  condemn  the  whole,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  buyer.  But  do  not  let  a  grower  be  entirely  discour- 
aged if  he  is  unlucky  enough  to  have  a  scabby  band.  The  scab 
can  be  cured  before  the  next  season,  and  if  he  will  pay  proper 
attention  to  doing  up  his  wool  as  carefully  as  he  would  if  sound, 
he  will  obtain  better  results  than  perhaps  he  expects.  In  these 
cases  pack  the  loose  wool  by  itself — do  not  attempt  to  tie  up  a 
lot  of  loose  wool  and  odds  and  ends  to  look  like  a  fleece.  Scabby 
wool  is  often  very  light  in  condition,  and  if  carefully  handled  will 
often  sell  quite  well  on  account  of  its  lightness.  Never  dip,  in 
the  fall,  with  those  strong  dips  which  turn  the  color  of  the  wool. 
In  the  spring  it  is  not  of  so  much  consequence,  as  the  sheep 
have  just  been  sheared  and  the  dip  does  not  find  any  wool  to 
damage," 

In  order  to  make  a  success  of  the  sheep  business  here,  sheep- 
men have  found  that  they  must  put  up  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  tons  of  hay  for  every  thousand  head,  besides  building 
sheds  in  which  the  animals  may  seek  shelter  during  excessive 
cold.  The  hay  can  be  put  up  at  from  two  dollars  to  two  dollars 
and  a  half  per  ton,  and  is  an  absolute  necessity  to  successful 
sheep  husbandry  here. 

The  average  clip  in  this  Territory  is  about  six  and  one-half 
pounds  per  sheep,  though  isolated  instances  are  reported  where 
a  clip  of  twenty-five  pounds  of  wool  has  been  sheared.  The 
wools  grown  in  this  Territory  are  worth  from  twenty-two  to 
twenty-eight  cents  per  pound,  and  are  counted  among  the  very 
best  of  the  mid-continent. 

Dakota. — The  Indians  held  possession  of  this  Territory  until 
the  Black  Hills  gold  excitement  turned  public  attention  thither 
in  1875  ;  population  then  came  in  rapidly.  In  1880  there  were 
eighty-five  thousand,  two  hundred  and  forty-four  sheep  in 
Dakota,  mostly  urade  Merinos  from  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  Both 
classes  of  stock-men  pronounce  tho  country  excellent  for  their 


FOR  WOOL   Als'D   MUTTON.  263 

purposes.  Though  cold,  the  constant  dry  winds  sweep  away 
the  snow  ;  the  foot-hills  with  timber  afford  shelter  ;  and  grasses, 
principally  the  buffalo,  furnish  tolerably  good  feed. 

In  1880  there  were  sixty-three  thousand,  two  hundred  and  six 
sheep  shorn,  yielding  about  five  pounds  of  wool  per  fleece  ;  and 
there  were  one  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five  slaugh- 
tered for  mutton,  having  an  average  live  weight  of  eighty-eight 
pounds. 

Alkali.— When  sheep  are  very  thirsty  and  heated  they  will 
injure  or  kill  themselves  by  drinking  alkali  water.  But  when 
they  have  constant  access  to  it  they  will  sometimes  take  it  with- 
out injury,  and  will  not  require  to  be  salted  ;  though  careful 
flock-masters  consider  this  a  slovenly  practice.  The  following 
paragraph,  clipped  from  the  Pacific  Rural  Press,  is  full  of  sug- 
gestiveness  for  Western  flock-masters  : 

"  Alfalfa  will  grow  in  alkali  soil  unless  it  is  very  strong ;  but 
it  seems  that  even  the  strongest  will  support  Bermuda  grass. 
Mr.  J.  A.  Gary,  of  Tipton,  has  a  spot  of  veiy  strong  white  alkali 
ground  by  the  side  of  his  reservoir.  He  planted  alfalfa  upon  it 
repeatedly,  but  it  would  not  make  a  start  even.  A  few  months 
ago  he  procured  some  Bermuda  grass  seed  and  tried  that,  with 
astonishing  success.  Although  the  fowls  from  the  barn-yard 
scratch  in  it  incessantly,  it  grows  rapidly  and  will  soon  make  a 
perfect  mat  all  over  what  was  before  an  unsightly  alkali  spot. 
Let  others  try  this  grass  upon  their  alkali  wastes." 

Items  on  Management.— Mr.  W.  B.  Skipton,  of  Empire,  Da- 
kota, furnishes  me  the  following  facts  :  In  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer, sheep  feed  principally  on  the  buffalo  and  bunch  grasses, 
but  in  the  fall  and  winter  they  resort  to  blue-joint.  The  latter 
grows  tall,  and  is  not  covered  by  snow.  There  is  no  rain  during 
the  fall  and  winter,  and  the  buffalo  and  bunch  grasses  get  so 
dry  and  harsh  that  the  sheep  do  not  relish  them.  There  is  a 
weed  called  the  rosin-weed,  which  sheep  are  very  fond  of  ;  it  is 
very  scarce,  and  when  flocks  are  put  on  a  new  range  they  will 
travel  a  great  deal  in  search  of  it,  but  after  they  have  been  held 
there  a  few  days,  and  have  picked  these  weeds  clean,  they  be- 
come contented. 

Good  sheds  are  used  in  winter ;  sometimes  they  are  covered 
with  hay,  but  generally  with  boards.  Sheep  are  shedded  only 
during  the  storms  ;  it  matters  not  how  cold  it  is,  they  are  turned 
out  to  graze  whenever  it  does  not  storm.  If  it  storms  all  day, 
they  receive  some  hay  under  shelter.     The  joint  grass  is  cut  for 


264  THE    AMERICAN    MERINO 

hay,  because  it  grows  heavier  than  other  grasses,  but  any  of 
them  makes  good  hay.  The  hay  is  stacked,  but  not  with  much 
painstaking,  as  there  is  not  much  rain  at  haying  time.  Very 
little  bay  is  used,  as  the  sheep  are  turned  out  to  "rustle"  for 
their  Uving  nearly  the  year  round. 

There  is  a  poisonous  weed  called  the  milkweed  (a  very  small 
weed,  and  not  like  that  of  the  Eastern  States,  so  called,  which 
is  sure  death  to  the  sheep  that  eats  it.  There  is  no  remedy 
used,  for  the  sheep  swells  up  and  dies  very  quick.  They  do  not 
eat  it  very  often. 

There  is  no  foot-rot  in  Dakota,  but  sheep  are  troubled  with 
the  "gumbo  "  getting  between  their  hoofs,  which  causes  them 
to  go  lame.  The  shepherds  catch  them,  and  remove  it.  There 
are  no  maggots  in  summer  ;  but  sheep  are  troubled  with  horse- 
flies and  bot-flies  on  the  nose  and  legs,  as  they  have  not  so  much 
wool  on  these  parts  as  have  the  Eastern  sheep.  They  ai-e  rubbed 
on  the  noses  and  legs  with  kerosene  and  lard  as  a  protection. 

Fenced  sheep  ranges  will  carry  two  sheep  where  the  open 
range  carries  one.  This  proportion  changes  as  the  range  im- 
proves and  becomes  greater  in  favor  of  the  pasture  system. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 
SYSTEMS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  Continued. 


Nebraska. — Among  the  foremost  importers  of  Merinos  into 
this  State  may  be  mentioned  William  Draper,  H.  H.  Stoddard, 
J.  M.  Chadwick,  Colonel  J.  H.  Roe,  R.  F.  James,  Henry  Good- 
year and  William  Stong.  In  Central  and  AVestem  Nebraska, 
which  is  the  stock  region  proper,  the  large,  strong,  prolific  Me- 
rino ewes  of  California  and  Oregon  (all  ultimately  traceable 
to  California),  have  always  been  the  favorites.  A  three-quarter 
California  ewe,  crossed  with  a  full-blood  Vermont  or  Ohio  ram, 
gives  the  most  desirable  result — a  strong,  rangy  animal,  cai)able 
of  taking  care  of  itself  on  the  wind-swept  plains,  with  a  dense 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON. 


265 


GO 

I 

» 
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^66  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

fleece  of  deep-grown,  nicely  crimped  wool,  adapted  to  resist  the 
storms  and  shed  the  rain  from  its  thick,  oily  exterior.  Such  a 
sheep,  after  a  storm  of  snow  and  sleet  which  pierces  the  thin- 
wooled  British  sheep  to  the  marrow,  will  get  up  and  shake  itself, 
throwing  off  the  snow,  and  move  quietly  off  to  the  range.  Such 
a  sheep  will  shear  eight  pounds  of  wool  of  good  quality,  grading 
as  medium  clothing,  and  will  develop  at  maturity  a  carcass  of 
one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  (ten 
pounds  less  if  a  ewe),  which,  fattened  one  winter  on  the  abund- 
ant corn  of  the  Missouri  Valley,  or  in  Illinois  or  Indiana,  will 
weigh  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds,  live  weight,  and  bring,  in  the  Chicago  market,  five, 
five  and  a  half  or  six  dollars  per  hundred. 

It  is  estimated,  by  a  high  authority  in  such  matters,  that  a 
wether  like  that  above  described  can  be  grown  to  the  age  of 
four  years  at  a  cost  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  ;  saying 
nothing  about  the  wool  return,  which  will  be  at  least  oae  dollar 
and  fifty  cents  a  year,  at  the  prices  prevailing  prior  to  1883.  It 
will  then  be  worth  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents — the  carcass 
alone. 

The  great  demand  for  "feeders,"  to  consnme  the  superfluous 
corn  of  Iowa  and  the  other  rich  prairie  States,  tributary  to 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  has  created  in  Nebraska  a  strong  pre- 
possession in  favor  of  the  mutton  breeds,  and  the  large-framed 
Merino  of  the  Pacific.  The  Vermont  Merino  is  sought  after — 
to  use  the  expressive  phrase  of  a  ranchman — simply  to  give 
*' roofing"  to  the  heavy-bodied  Cahfornian.  In  default  of  the 
latter,  the  Nebraska  flock-master  will  resort  to  tlip  Downs  or  to 
the  Cotswold.  Still,  he  always  wishes  a  considerable  infusion 
of  Merino  blood  from  some  source. 

A  Merino  ram  from  California,  weighing  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds,  costs  (1883)  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  ;  but  this 
is  not  considered  as  against  the  compensating  gain  of  a  pound 
per  fleece  in  each  of  his  progeny,  and  fifty  cents  per  hundred  on 
the  mutton.  There  are  not  lacking  men  in  Central  and  West- 
em  Nebraska,  who  fearlessly  assert  that  the  Merino  is  every  way 
the  best  sheep  for  that  section,  being  not  only  hardy,  but  yield- 
ing more  wool  and  mutton  than  any  cross-bred  sheep.  This  is 
doubtless  true,  with  the  qualification  that  the  flocks  shall  be  the 
large  ra?ige-flocks,  and  the  Merino  of  the  large,  hardy,  accli- 
mated California  variety. 


FOR   WOOL    AND    MUTTON.  267 

Appliances. — Reaching  Nebraska  we  have  approached  near 
enough  to  the  great  agricultural  systems  of  the  populous  East 
to  frequently  find  on  the  ranch  the  convenient  farm  appliances 
to  which  the  Eastern  shepherd  is  accustomed.  Thus,  on  the 
great  ranch  of  Colonel  Roe,  in  Buffalo  County,  we  find  a  barn 
capable  of  receiving  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  tons  of  hay 
and  fodder ;  five  good  corrals  ;  a  wind-mill,  which  distributes 
water  to  all  the  coiTals  ;  sheds,  with  gi'ain-troughs  ;  an  ample 
com-crib  ;  a  ram  pasture  of  ten  acres,  etc. 

Wind-Breaks. — In  Western  Nebraska,  as  in  Wyoming  and 
the  adjacent  regions,  resort  is  frequently  had  to  snow-fences  or 
breaks  for  the  protection  of  sheep.  These  are  constnicted  nearly 
in  the  same  way  as  ordinary  board  fence,  except  that  there  are 
no  permanent  posts  set  in  the  ground.  Each  panel  is  made  in- 
dex)endent,  with  slats  instead  of  the  posts  ;  and  these  panels  ai'e 
set  in  strings,  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  yards  long,  in- 
clined at  3  slight  angle  with  the  direction  of  the  mud  (which 
generally  comes  from  the  north-west),  and  supported  bv  braces 
or  brackets.  These  strings  generally  curve  a  little,  with  the 
convex  side  toward  the  wind  ;  and,  if  the  locality  is  one  which 
is  liable  to  very  heavy  snow-falls  and  strong  winds,  they  are 
doubled,  trebled,  even  increased  to  seven  or  eight  in  number, 
all  running  parallel  and  with  a  sp^e  of  a  rod  or  less  l3etween 
each  two.  Each  successive  string  detains  a  part  erf  the  snow,  so 
that,  unless  the  storm  is  unusually  protracted,  the  sheep  hover- 
ing in  the  lee  are  sufiiciently  protected. 

Belts  and  groves  of  trees  are  also  found  very  useful  for  this 
purpose.  White  willow  is  preferred  by  most  farmers  ;  some 
plant  Cottonwood  in  regions  where  it  will  succeed.  The  white 
willow  grows  very  rapidly  and  forms  a  dense  screen.  A  snow- 
fence  or  a  belt  of  this  willow,  advanced  a  httle  beyond  a  grove 
of  the  same,  form  an  excellent  protection  ;  very  httle  snow  will 
penetrate  a  grove  thus  protected. 

Dangers  from  the  Elements.— There  are  two  dangers,  some- 
what pecuhar  to  the  Platte  ranges  of  Central  Nebraska,  and 
especially  noticeable  in  the  Repubhcan  Valley— southwest- 
miring  and  drowning.  There  are  hollows  and  stream-beds  of 
tenacious  or  shifting  soil,  that  become  dangerous  traps  after  the 
spring  and  early  rains,  pai'ticularly  for  yoimg  stock.  When  the 
floods  break  into  the  narrow  valley  ravines,  numerous  in  those 
regions,  there  are  sometimes  heavy  losses  from  drowning,  the 
animals  being  caught  by  the  flood  of  sudden  storms.    Along  the 


268  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

Platte  there  are  wide,  treacherous  quicksands  which  swallow 
up  unwary  animals.  Other  things  greatly  to  be  dreaded  are  the 
blinding  snow-storm  known  as  a  "  blizzard,"  coming  suddenly 
when  the  sheep  are  on  the  opL'n  range  ;  a  cold  rain  that  reaches 
the  skin,  and  sometimes,  when  freezing  follows,  encases  the 
sheep  in  a  coat  of  icy  mail ;  and  deep  snow  covering  the  ground 
for  several  days.  In  November,  1879,  when  Indian  summ3r 
weather  and  good  pasturage  were  giving  promise  of  safety  to 
flocks  that  were  yet  at  a  distance  from  home,  suddenh' ,  svith- 
out  any  recognized  warning,  a  furious  snow-storm  broke  upon 
the  plains  in  the  night ;  in  the  morning  the  thermometer  had 
fallen  nearly  to  zero,  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale,  and  nothing 
could  be  seen  a  horse's  length.  The  hastily  aroused  shepherds 
and  their  brave  dogs  could  not  control  the  sheep,  although  one 
of  the  latter  killed  fourteen  sheep  in  his  vigorous  eiforts  to 
check  their  course.  The  storm  lasted  three  days  and  nights. 
Sheep  drifted  forty  and  fifty  miles  from  their  ranges.  Some 
w^ere  buried  in  snow-drifts  ;  some  died  from  exposure  and  want 
of  feed.  As  soon  as  the  violence  and  persistency  of  the  gale 
were  realized,  relief  parties  were  started  out.  One  herder  was 
brought  in  frozen  and  helpless  :  his  dog  had  kept  with  the  drift- 
ing sheep  ;  but  he,  evercome  with  cold  and  fatigue,  had  lain 
down  to  die.  Another  was  discovered  on  his  horse,  but  man, 
horse  and  dog  formed  a  mo'tionless  group — the  herder  uncon- 
scious, the  horse  almost  dead,  the  dog  nearly  frozen.  The 
sheep,  of  which  many  were  sufforated,  were  found  hard  by  in 
a  dry  wash,  where  a  snow-drift  had  covered  them  up.  Man  and 
dog  had  to  be  carried  twenty  miles  to  the  nearest  roof.  He 
might  have  left  his  charge  and  gone  in  search  of  shelter  while 
strength  still  remained  to  himself  and  horse,  but  he  stood  by 
his  sheep  to  the  last.  It  was  said  that  the  dog  refused  to  eat  or 
drink  until  his  master,  restored  to  consciousness,  recognized 
him  ;  then,  when  fed,  he  endeavored  to  return  to  the  sheep. 

Feeding  in  Winter. — A  hundred  tons  of  hay,  costing  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  a  ton,  will  winter  one  thousand 
sheep,  and  three  bushels  of  grain  per  head  is  allowed  to  mutton- 
sheep.  Stock  sheep  are  not  fed  regularly,  but  if  a  stress  of 
w^eather  arises,  they  are  brought  within  the  corrals  and  receive 
two  pounds  of  hay  and  one-fourth  pound  of  shelled  corn 
per  head  daily,  scattered  on  the  snow.  Shelled  corn  is  the 
universal  feed  for  fattening  sheep,  while  ewes  in  lamb  receive 
crushed  corn  or  oats.     If  the  corrals  are  protected  by  snow- 


FOE   WOOL   AI^D    MUTTON".  269 

fences  or  belts  of  willow,  as  already  described,  the  sheep  -will 
generally  do  better  than  if  housed.  But  sheds  are  needed  for 
lambs,  rams,  "  poor-house  flocks,"  etc. 

Water  in  Winter. — When  the  shepherd  sees  his  flock,  of 
their  own  accord  and  with  a  tremendous  rush,  run  to  their 
accustomed  watering-place  in  summer,  he  understands  that 
they  need  water ;  but  in  winter  he  is  very  apt  to  neglect  this 
matter.  With  snow  evenly  distributed  over  the  range,  sheep 
are  apt  to  get  all  the  water  they  want ;  but  when  there  is  no 
snow  they  may  suffer  severely.  Lambs,  particularly,  have  to 
be  carefully  looked  after ;  they  will  sometimes  become  so  stupid 
from  cold  that,  even  when  driven  to  water,  they  do  not  appear 
to  understand  that  it  is  water,  but  seem  to  think  it  is  ice  or 
snow.  Many  a  lamb  has  been  taken  from  a  range  where  the 
snow  supplied  its  wants  daily,  and,  with  one  or  two  thousand 
others,  been  fed  on  hay  and  driven  daily  to  a  hole  in  the 
ice  large  enough  for  one  hundred  to  drink  from  at  once,  and 
held  there  long  enough  for  six  or  eight  hundred  to  drink,  then 
driven  away  (six  or  eight  hundred  others  not  having  had  any 
water),  day  after  day  without  a  drink,  until  it  died,  and  the 
master  did  not  know  the  reason.  It  requires  the  utmost  pa- 
tience, gentleness  and  tact  to  hold  a  flock  of  half-frozen  lambs 
to  a  hole  in  the  ice,  and  keep  tliem  moving  about,  so  that  the 
large  and  strong  ones  may  drink  and  fall  back,  and  the  others 
may  be  brought  around  within  view  of  the  water  and  secure 
what  they  want. 

The  Details  of  Lambing,  Etc.,  are  about  the  same  as  here- 
tofore described  for  the  adjacent  regions. 

Diseases. — Scab  is  the  only  disease  of  any  importance  ;  it  is 
claimed  by  the  residents  that  it  would  seldom  occur  if  not 
freshly  brought  in  by  trail  sheep.  This  dry,  elevated  region 
does  not  develop  foot-rot ;  indeed,  it  is  asserted  that  flocks 
suffering  from  it  are  cured  by  being  driven  hither. 

Flock-masters,  in  Nebraska,  generally  do  not  care  to  breed 
their  sheep  beyond  three-fourths  Merino. 

Wyoming.— Probably  three-fourths  of  the  sheep  of  this  Ter- 
ritory are  animals  bred  from  original  Mexican  ewes,  crossed 
with  Merino  and — to  a  less  extent — Cotswold  rams.  From  the 
"Government  Report"  I  condense  the  following  table  ; 


2ro 


THE   AMERICAN   MERIJ^O 


ESTIM.\TED  AVERAGE  VALUE  AND  WEIGHT  OP  STOCK  AND  MUT- 
TON-SHEEP AND  THE  ESTIMATE!)  IVEKAGE  ANNUAL 
WOOL  CLIP  FOR  IbbO. 


1 
MUTTON-SHEEP. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL   SHEAR. 

Kind  of  sheep. 

Average 

live 
weight. 

Average  1 
value    as 
mutton. 

$3  20 

2  75 

3  25 

3  00 

4  2.3 

Rams. 

Ewes. 

Wethers. 

Lambs. 

Full  Mexican? 

Pounds. 
80 

90 

115 
100 
125 

Pounds. 
3.5 

Pounds. 
2.5 

4 

3.75 

6 

5 

Pounds. 
3 

4.5 

4 
7 
6 

Pounds. 
2 

Half-breed      Mexic.in 
Merinos— z.  €.,  bred 
from  Mexican  ewes 
and     crossed    witli 
Merino  rams 

3 

Half-I)reed      Mexican 
Cotswold,  bred  from 
Mexican   ewes   and 
crossed  witli   Cots- 
wold rams 

High-grade  Merinos. . 

High-grade  Cotswold 

■   10 '"* 

7 

2.75 
45 

4 

Laramie  City  is  fast  becoming  a  very  important  wool  market, 
over  two  hundred  thousand  sheep  already  being  grazed  on  the 
Laramie  plains.  Near  the  city,  at  a  point  which  is  termed 
Gloversville,  Mr.  S.  H.  Kennedy  has  erected  dipping  tanks  and 
apparatus  whereby  shesp-growers  are  enabled  to  dij)  their  flocks 
much  cheaper  than  under  the  old  arrangement  of  doing  it  at 
home.  He  has  also,  here,  a  large  shearing  pen  with  fifty  stalls, 
with  a  capacity  of  several  thousand  sheep,  a  sacking-house,  a 
large  ware-house,  boarding-house  and  engine,  and  pump-house. 
The  sheep  are  driven  to  the  works,  shorn  and  dipped,  and  the 
wool  is  sacked  r^ady  for  market.  Scouring  machines  are  talked 
of  to  prepare  the  wool  for  shipping  direct  to  manufacturers. 
The  wool  product  tributary  to  Laramie  has  reached  nearly  one 
million,  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  annum. 

All  thes3  associated  efforts  toward  a  consolidation,  a  better 
classification  and  an  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  wools 
of  the  Far  West,  previous  to  their  shipping,  ought  to  be  fostered 
by  the  growers.  It  is  this  policy  which  has,  among  other  things, 
given  Australian  wools  their  advantage  over  domestic  fleece  in 
the  Now  England  markets.  In  the  case  of  these  wools  the 
manufacturer  can,  as  he  does  in  England,  send  an  order  to  the 
broker  for  the  exact  number  of  pounds  of  the  exact  grade  of 
wool  he  wishes ;  and  the  professional  stamp  cf  the  sorter,  af- 
fixed "on  honor  "  to  a  lot  of  wool,  passes  as  unquestioned  as  a 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOK.  271 

Bank  of  England  note.  It  is  this  cleansing  and  thorough  classi- 
fication of  clips  on  a  large  scale  which  will  enable  the  growers 
of  the  West  to  compensate  themselves  somewhat  for  the  poorer 
grade  of  their  wool,  in  competition  with  the  small  and  scattered 
neighborhood  clips  of  superior  wool  produced  in  the  East. 

There  are  some  objections  to  this  plan  which  ought  to  be  can- 
didly considered.  One  is,  the  strong  opposition,  amounting  to  a 
prejudice,  of  the  manufacturers  toward  scoured  wool.  Perhaps 
the  West  is  indebted  to  the  Califomians  as  much  as  to  anv  other 
section  for  the  creation  of  this  prejudice.  Some  years  ago  it 
was  made  known  that  if  the  Calfornia  wools  were  sorted  and 
6Com-ed  they  could  be  shipped  to  the  great  mills  of  Cohoes  and 
Lawrence  and  compete  successfully  with  the  Australian  wools. 
With  their  accustomed  energy  the  Callfornians  entered  into 
this  scheme  ;  scouring  mills  were  erected  in  San  Francisco,  and 
large  shipments  of  "scoured"  wool  began  to  go  East.  But 
much  of  it,  besides  being  originally  defective,  was  so  ill  sorted, 
scoured  and  baled,  that  it  gave  a  bad  reputation  to  the  whole 
enterprise.  In  the  summer  of  1885,  unwashed  wools  sold  more 
freely  in  Chicago  than  either  scoured  or  washed  wools.  As  the 
freight  charges  on  dirt  must  ultimately  be  paid  by  the  grower, 
the  manufacturer  is  indifferent  to  a  reform  in  this  direction  ; 
and  it  is  easy  for  the  grower  to  see  how  much  it  is  to  his  inter- 
est to  reduce  his  clip  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  condition  of 
pure  wool,  sorted  to  its  last  analysis,  before  it  starts  on  its  long 
journey  across  the  continent. 

Another  objection  is  that  every  fleece  must  be  sorted,  so 
that  each  of  the  several  qualities  of  fiber  found  in  each  fleece 
may  be  placed  with  fiber  of  hk^  quality  from  other  fleeces. 
This  wiU  make  necessary  the  services  of  skilled  sorters,  and 
to  such  men  high  wages  must  be  paid.  But  this  sorting  must 
be  done  at  some  time,  and  while  wages  would  doubtless  be 
higher  in  the  West  than  in  the  East,  the  saving  in  charges  for 
freight  would  probably  pay  a  handsome  profit  over  any  differ- 
ence there  might  be  in  cost  of  sorting  and  scouring. 

Colorado. — This  State  has  attained  a  prominent  rank  as  a 
producer  of  sheep  and  wool.  East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
north  of  the  Arkansas  River,  which  is  the  principal  stock  re- 
gion, the  number  of  sheep  in  1870  was  very  small,  and  the  feel- 
ing of  stock-men  against  them  was  very  bitter.  In  1880  the 
sheep-men  almost  controlled  this  region  by  virtue  of  holding  the 
lands  with  water  on  them.     The  sheep  numbered  one  million. 


272  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

ninety-one  thousand,  four  hundred  and  forty-three.  Fourteen 
slaughtering  establishments  reported  thirty-seven  thousand, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-six  sheep  butchered  in  1879,  having  an 
average  live  weight  of  one  hundred  and  four  pounds.  The  wool 
clip  averaged  five  to  eight  pounds  per  head. 

Here,  as  in  nearly  all  the  lands  west  of  the  hundredth  merid- 
ian, the  pasture  is  much  depreciated  in  value  below  its  condi- 
tion a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  when  it  was  overrun  by  millions 
of  buffalo.  In  Colorado,  perhaps  more  than  in  any  other  State, 
except  California,  irrigation  and  the  cultivation  of  forage  crops 
— chiefly  alfalfa — have  been  prosecuted  to  supplement  the  fail- 
ing natural  resources.  "Alfalfa  mutton"  has  a  reputation 
almost  as  distinctive  as  the  turnip-fed  chops  of  Dorset, 

The  seeds  of  the  grasses  and  forage  plants,  it  is  true,  are 
trampled  in  by  stock,  and  especially  bv  sheep,  and  in  soils  not 
too  sandy  tbey  are  thus  defended  from  the  drying  and  freezing 
they  would  otherwise  suffer  ;  and  the  finely  distributed  sheep 
manure  enriches  the  land  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  close  herd- 
ing and  cropping  do  undoubtedly  tear  out  very  considerable 
amounts  of  certain  grasses  by  the  roots. 

There  are  many  dry  regions  on  the  great  plains  of  the  mid- 
continent,  which  do  not  absolutely  forbid  winter  occupation, 
except  in  a  few  limitcid  areas.  The  snow-drifts  supply  water 
under  the  warm  breath  of  the  stock,  or  are  melted  in  holes  in  which 
the  animals  have  trodden  or  wallowed.  Stock  can  travel  twice 
as  far  for  water  in  winter  as  in  summer,  thus  greatly  increasing 
their  available  pasture  area ;  besides  which,  there  are  tracts 
which  are  supplied  with  water  in  winter  but  not  in  summer. 

I  append  the  following  paragraphs  from  the  Government 
Report  of  1884  : 

"We  may  consider  the  flock  year  to  begin  when  lambing  and 
shearing  are  done.  The  sheep  go  on  summer  range  about  July 
1st.  Changes  from  summer  to  winter  grazing  are  generallj^  but 
not  always  made.  The  main  idea  is  to  keep  the  flocks  where 
there  is  grass,  and  in  winter  to  have  them  sheltered,  artificially 
or  naturally. 

"  For  summer  management  the  stock  is  divided  into  flocks, 
here  always  called  "  bands"  ;  *  the  numbers  vary  according  to 
kind  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  each,  the  ewes  with 


"  *Tlie  word  '  band  '  is  used  witli  very  different  mcariiiijjs  in  different  locali- 
ties in  the  West;  it  is  usel  for  a  flock,  a  liord.  a  drove  of  animals,  a  sublrihc  of 
Indians,  etc.  Among  stock-meu  it  is  used  as  the  commou  name  for  eitlier  flock, 
herd  or  drove." 


FOR   WOOL  AN^D    MUTTOX.  273 

lambs  together,  the  wethers  and  dry  ewes  together,  each  flock 
under  a  special  shepherd  (here  usually  called  'herder'),  who 
is  accompanied  by  a  dog.  The  flock  is  put  in  an  inclosure  every 
night,  for  better  protection. 

' '  The  summer  ranging  continues  until  the  last  of  November, 
•when  the  sheep  are  moved  to  pasturage  with  sufiicient  cured 
grass,  shelters  from  storm,  and  stored  feed  for  emergencies. 
Before  winter  sets  in,  weaker  animals  are  separated  from  the 
flock  and  made  into  an  invalid  flock,  with  which,  perhaps,  the 
rams  are  run  during  the  day.  This  flock  receives  special  feed 
— hay  or  grain — as  occasion  requires.  As  a  rule,  feeding  is  not 
necessitated  oftener  than,  perhaps,  four  winters  ia  ten  ;  but  a 
prudent  administration  will  always  provide  feed  other  than 
pasture  for  lambs  and  weaklings,  and  for  rams  before  and  dur- 
ing service. 

"  Dry  stock  and  wethers  will  stand  almost  any  severity  of 
weather  on  pasture  alone  ;  the  use  of  hay  on  a  sheep  ranch  is 
principally  for  the  horses.  About  an  ounce  of  corn  per  day  to 
lambs,  or  two  and  a  half  ounces  to  other  sheep,  and  twice  the 
amount  if  oats  are  fed,  is  the  usual  ration  for  such  as  are  fed. 
In  1880,  com  delivered  on  the  ranch  in  Central-eastern  Colorado 
cost  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents  per  hundred  weight ;  in  1879  it 
was  worth  one  dollar  and  thirty  cents  ;  in  1878,  while  the  deep 
snow  lay,  it  was  had  at  ninety  cents.     *    -^    * 

"  The  rams  are  turned  in  with  the  ewes  from  about  the  10th 
of  December  to  the  20th  of  January.     They  are,  as  a  rule,  put 
in  with  the  ewe  flock  at  night  and  taken  out  in  the  morning. 
***** 

* '  The  more  experienced  flock-masters  discard  sheds  except 
for  lambing.  High,  tight  corrals,  with  outlying  snow  and  wind- 
breaks, are  preferred,  as  they  afford  sufficient  shelter  and  pro- 
tection, are  more  cleanly,  less  liable  to  induce  disease,  and,  in 
storms,  the  sheep  do  not  overcrowd  and  smother  one  another. 

"Inasmuch  as  severe  storms  and  exceptional  years  are  such 
an  important  element  in  Colorado  sheep-grazing,  the  following 
facts  pertaining  to  the  experience  of  previous  years  in  this  re- 
gard may  be  of  value  : 

"In  the  winter  of  1871-73  severe  snow-storms  caused  great 
loss,  and  April  7th  a  terribly  cold  wind  with  fine  snow  (the 
*  blizzard'  of  the  plains)  was  very  destructive.  Stock  was  then 
run  without  any  artificial  protection.  The  man  who  owned  the 
largest  flock  in  the  State  at  that  time,  lost  outright  seventeen 
per  cent,  of  his  sheep.    The  years  1874  and  1875  are  memorable 


274  THE   AMERICAN"  MERIN^O 

for  extreme  cold  weather.  The  late  storms  during  and  just 
after  lambing  and  shearing  were  the  most  disastrous.  About 
the  middle  of  June,  1876,  there  was  a  two  days'  storm  of  wind, 
snow,  and  hail.  In  the  spring  of  1877  again  a  like  disaster  came 
upon  the  flocks.  During  six  weeks  of  December,  1877,  and 
January,  1878,  heavy  snows  remained  upon  the  ground,  in  many 
places  covering  the  pasturage  entirely.  One  ranch,  eighteen 
miles  east  of  Colorado  Springs,  lost  five  hundred  head  out  of 
thirty-seven  hundred,  while  that  almost  unexampled  snow  lay 
on  the  ground.  The  losses  consequent  were  said  to  have  aver- 
aged twenty  per  cent,  of  the  sheep.  One  man  who  then  had 
six  thousand  sheep  without  pasturage,  but  who  had  provided 
hay  the  summer  before  and  bought  Kansas  corn  at  eighty-five 
cents  per  hundred  weight,  carried  his  sheep  through  with  but 
little  loss." 

Sheep  husbandry  in  Colorado,  as  in  California,  is  subject  to 
great  vicissitudes,  but,  for  the  most  part,  from  a  different  cause, 
to- wit :  blizzards  and  deep  snows.  Fifty  per  cent,  of  flocks,  for 
which  no  dry  feed  had  been  provided,  have  sometimes  perished 
within  a  month.  Yet  the  business  has  often  been  remarkably 
lucrative. 

Utah. — Two  Merino  rams  are  said  to  have  been  obtained  from 
California-bound  emigrant  trains  as  early  as  1858.  In  1866, 
upon  the  establishment  of  a  woolen  mill  in  Utah,  there  was  a 
demand  for  finer  wool  than  had  been  grown  before.  Henry 
Bell  traded  to  Brigham  Young,  for  fat  wethers,  five  thousand 
graded  Merinos  from  California.  Still,  up  to  1873,  the  quality 
of  Utah  wool  remained  poor,  being  little  improved  except  by  a 
few  long-wool  rams.  In  that  year  Daniel  Davidson  brought  in 
four  hundred  high-grade  Merino  rams,  an  example  followed  by 
others  ;  and  in  a  few  years  a  large  number  of  Merinos  had  been 
introduced  from  Vermont,  Kentucky  and  California,  of  both 
the  American  and  French  varieties. 

In  1879  the  commercial  estimates  placed  the  Utah  clip  at  two 
million  pounds,  classing  the  product  as  medium  to  fine,  an  in- 
crease in  six  years  of  three  hundred  and  forty-four  per  cent,  in 
quantity  with  a  great  improvement  in  quality.  A  serious  check 
was  given  to  sheep  husbandry  by  the  severe  winter  of  1879-80, 
when,  in  the  three  Counties,  Tooele,  Millard  and  Juab,  forty- 
three  per  cent,  of  the  flocks  perished.  But  the  Mormon  hie- 
rarchy has  succeeded  better  than  most  of  the  Territorial  authori- 
ties  have  done   in  reconciling   or  suppressing  the   conflicts 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTON.  275 

between  the  cattle  and  sheep-owners,  and  the  latter  are  steadily 
gaining  on  the  former. 
From  the  Oovernment  Report  I  take  these  two  items  : 

"Sources  of  Loss  Among  Sheep. — The  migration  of  sheep 
flocks  encourages  the  prevalence  of  scab.  This  disease  was  said 
by  all  flock-owners  to  exist  almost  universally  throughout  the 
Territory.  Previous  to  1876  no  Mormon  sheep-man  practiced 
dipping  his  stock  as  an  antidote  to  scab  ;  but  in  1879  many  flock- 
owners  dipped  their  sheep.  "  Handling"  sheep  for  the  disease 
was  still  extensively  adhered  to,  which  consisted  in  catching 
such  sheep  as  were  seen  to  be  affected  and  rubbing  grease  mixed 
w^ith  mercurial  preparations  on  the  diseased  parts.  Close  atten- 
tion to  the  appearance  of  the  disorder  often  kept  it  under  con- 
trol, never,  however,  fairly  eradicating  it.  When  flocks  were 
intrusted  to  lazy,  unreliable  herders,  who  failed  to  apply  the 
ointment  frequently,  the  progress  of  the  disease  during  the  long 
season  of  absence  on  the  deserts  was  often  rapid,  and  resulted 
in  great  mortality  from  weakening  animals,  thus  causing  them 
to  succumb  to  storms,  while  the  wool  product  of  the  surviving 
flock  would  be  much  reduced.  The  custom  of  driving  thous- 
ands of  sheep  each  spring  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  river 
Jordan  for  shearing,  convenient  to  the  Salt  Lake  market,  has 
also  tended  to  spread  the  contagion.  Flock-masters  assert  that 
the  bed-grounds  of  infected  sheep  are  a  sure  medium  for  dis- 
seminating scab  to  a  healthy  flock  which  may  later  occupy  the 
same  spot.  Each  season  between  one  and  two  handred  thous- 
and sheep  approach  this  common  rendezvous  in  shearing  time. 
Of  other  troubles  occurring  among  sheep,  blind  staggers  was 
stated  to  be  most  common  and  fatal,  though  no  great  mortality 
resulted  from  it.  Losses  by  alkali  taken  in  too  large  quantities 
with  feed  or  drink  while  heated  with  traveling,  and  from  bears, 
mountain  lions,*  coyotes  or  wildcats  on  th^  upland  summer 
feeding-grounds  were  occasional  throughout  the  Territory,  and 
in  some  localities  of  more  frequent  recurrence.  A  flock-master 
of  White  River  reported  the  loss  of  thirty -two  valuable  blooded 
rams  in  one  night  by  a  mountain  lion  that  entered  their  pen. 
This  same  owner  attributed  a  five  per  cent,  loss  each  year  to 
wild  animals,  an  uncommon  complaint,  however,  in  most  sec- 
tions of  Utah. 

"Poisonous  Vegetation.— Among  the  plants  eaten  by  cat- 

"  *  Panthers  are  usually  kiiowu,  west  of  the  Rucky  MouMtaius^  as  lious,  moun- 
laiii  lious,  or  California  lious." 


276  THE    IMERICAN^   MERINO 

tie  and  sheep  there  are  three  which  are  commonly  believed  to 
be  a  source  of  slight  annual  loss  among  live-stock.  The  poison- 
ous parsnip,  growing  in  wet  meadow  lands,  and  fatal  to  cattle 
when  its  root  is  eaten,  is  indigenous  to  many  localities,  particu- 
larly in  improved  and  irrigated  pastures  to  which  milch  cows 
may  have  access.  Another  plant  often  fatal  to  young  lambs  is 
the  poisonous  "  Sego  "  found  along  water-courses  on  the  valley 
slopes  and  bench  lands  ;  the  leaves  of  this  plant  are  said  to 
cause  the  difficulty,  as  its  bulb,  though  known  to  be  injurious, 
is  too  firmly  planted  to  be  torn  up  by  an  animal  while  grazing. 
In  Juab  Valley  a  larkspur  (monk's-hood )  was  said  by  cattle- 
owners  to  be  a  frequent  cause  of  death,  in  wet  springs,  among 
neat  stock.  Other  localities  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Wasatch 
Mountains  were  reported  as  nourishing  this  baneful  growth, 
identical  with  the  notorious  '  poison  weed '  of  Colorado  and 
Wyoming." 

Amount  of  Stock  per  Acre. — From  the  Government  Re- 
port, above  referred  to,  I  compile  the  table  here  given,  showing 
the  average  density  of  stock  (cattle  and  sheep)  occupation.  One 
head  of  neat  stock  is  taken  as  the  unit  of  stock,  and  five  sheep 
are  considered  an  equivalent  to  one  ' '  cow  "  in  relation  to  the 
consumption  of  pasture: 

Acres  to  the  Read.    M>.  of  Sheep,  1880. 

Texas 24.72  3,651,633 

New  Mexico 53.27  3,988,831 

Indian  Territory 62.85  55,000 

Kansas 27.29  629,671 

Colorado 42.15  1,091,443 

Nebraska 40.42  247,453 

Wyoming 69.90  450,225 

Dakota 73.72  85,244 

Montana 78.49  279,277 

California 35.63  5,727,349 

Arizona 122.24  466,524 

Nevada  . . . .  ^ 145.65  230,695 

Utah 136.97  523,121 

Oregon ...  51.63  1,368,102 

Washington 91.68  388,883 

Idaho 135.00  117,326 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that,  not  the  total  area  of  the 
States  and  Territories  is  given  above,  but  the  area  of  available 
pasturage.  Also,  thart  if  sheep  alone  were  considered,  the  allow- 
ance of  grazing  would  be  onry  one-fifth  of  that  in  the  table. 
For  instance,  Idaho  would  have  one  sheep  to  twenty-seven 
acres,  etc. 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTTOX.  277 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 
DISEASES  OF  THE  MERINO.— "  PAPERSKIN." 

As  a  motto  applicable  to  the  managemeiit  of  sheep,  I  should 
be  disposed  to  paraphrase  the  old  saying,  "  An  ounce  of  pre- 
vention is  worth  a  pound  of  cure  "  to  read  thus  :  "  Pounds  of 
prevention  will  reduce  the  cure  to  ounces. "  A  diseased  sheep, 
generally  speaking,  makes  accusation  against  the  master.  I 
should  be  profoundly  distrustful  of  the  fidelity,  industry,  and 
special  fitness  of  that  fiock-master,  who  professed  a  wide  and 
deep  acquaintance  with  the  maladies  of  sheep,  their  treatment, 
and  the  remedies  applicable  to  each.  That  ceaseless  and  tireless 
application  to  duty,  that  ever-watchful  care-taking,  which  is 
the  main  requisite  to  success  in  sheep  husbandry,  and  which 
will  always  be  the  principal  dependence  of  the  experienced 
shepherd,  will  leave  him  small  leisure,  and  less  inclination,  to 
"  doctor  "  his  flock.  The  '•  doctoring  "  of  a  sheep  is  one  of  the 
most  miserably  unsatisfactory,  uncertain  and  unprofitable 
operations  in  the  whole  scheme  of  management. 

One  of  the  most  successful  shepherds  that  I  ever  knew 
adopted  as  his  motto  :  "Love  your  sheep."  To  the  reader  who 
does  me  the  honor  to  peruse  these  pages,  I  would  say  :  Love  a 
sound  sheep  ;  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  keep  it  sound  ;  but  if, 
after  you  have  done  your  best,  it  falls  a  prey  to  some  of  the, 
happily,  very  limited  number  of  ailments  to  which  the  American 
Merino  is  liable,  and  the  use  of  some  simple  remedies  does  not 
prove  eifficacious,  it  would  be  better — unless  it  is  an  exception- 
ally valuable  animal — to  dispatch  it  at  once.  At  best  the  sheep 
is  a  frail  animal ;  it  goes  off  quickly  under  the  assault  of  most 
of  its  diseases  ;  and  if  the  case  is  a  lingering  one,  with  any  vis- 
ceral disease,  it  is  almost  certain  to  result  fatally. 

Yet  the  sheep  is  one  of  the  healthiest  of  animals  if  thoroughly 
well  cared  for.  Good  feeding  and  good  care,  are  of  transcend- 
ent importance  ;  and  I  would  have  the  barn  so  large,  the  at- 
mosphere so  pure,  the  hay  so  sweet  and  green,  and  the  corn  so 
sound,  that  there  never  would  be  room  for  a  bottle  of  medicine 
in  it. 

General  Remarks  on  Disease. — The  respiratory  system  of 
the  Merino  is  i3roportionately  smaller  and  feebler  than  that  of 
the  steer  ;  it  loves  and  requires,  above  all  other  domestic  ani- 


278  THE  AMERICAN   MERINO 

mals,  the  pure  air  of  high  and  dry  lands  for  the  maintenance  of 
health.  It  is  less  tolerant  of  the  vitiated  atmosphere  and  noxi- 
ous stenches  of  the  stable.  The  large,  round  nostrils  of  the 
Cotswold,  while  offering  a  more  ready  asylum  for  the  gad-fly 
in  summer,  on  the  other  hand  conduce  to  that  fullness  and  ro- 
tundity of  the  lungs,  which  materially  contribute  to  protect  it 
from  the  diseases  incident  to  the  respiratory  system.  This,  to- 
gether with  its  complicated  and  retarding  alimentary  apparatus, 
with  its  four  stomachs  and  many  yards  of  entrails,  render  the 
digestive  processes  weak  and  easily  disturbed. 

The  sheep  is  naturally  a  gormandizer  ;  it  consumes  an  amount 
of  food  disproportionately  large  for  its  size,  and  extracts  a 
relatively  small  percentage  of  nutriment  from  it ;  hence,  the 
richness  of  its  manure.  Hence,  also,  like  all  gormandizers 
with  an  overloaded  stomach,  it  needs  air,  exercise,  freedom,  in 
order  lo  work  off  this  gorge  without  detriment.  A  Merino 
closely  confined  and  fed  sufficiently,  leads  a  cold-blooded  life  ; 
its  ears  and  extremities  are  cold  ;  frequently  it  has  not  enough 
animal  heat  to  Hquify  the  yolk  and  expel  it  to  the  extremities 
of  the  fibers.  Hence,  the  latter  become  clotted  and  pasty  with 
yolk  of  a  greenish  tinge  or  nankeen-colored. 

The  sluggishness  of  the  sheep's  vital  processes  renders  it  a 
small  and  infrequent  consumer  of  water  ;  and  by  the  same  sign 
it  ought  to  have  all  it  will  drink,  and  be  encouraged,  by  frequent 
exercise,  to  drink  more.  There  are  more  flock-masters  who  err 
in  regard  to  water  and  exercise  than  in  feeding  ;  the  flocks  are 
oftener  stinted  in  the  former  than  the  latter. 

In  proportion  to  its  size,  the  sheep  has  also  a  smaller  brain 
and  nervous  system  than  any  other  domesticated  animal.  On 
this  account  it  is  not  capable  of  very  severe  or  long  continued 
muscular  exertion,  and  is  not  very  subject  to  violent  inflamma- 
tory diseases  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  little  power  to  resist 
disease,  or  to  recover  from  it  after  the  force  of  that  is  broken. 

For  these  reasons,  the  bleeding  and  purging  recommended  by 
Englisli  veterinarians  for  their  high-fed,  full-blooded  sheep,  are 
seldom  called  for  with  the  feebler  and  more  sluggish  Merino. 
On  the  other  hand,  its  overloaded  stomach  often  requh-es  pur- 
gatives ;  but  these,  on  account  of  the  weak  nervous  and  mus- 
cular system,  should  always  be  accompanied  with  tonics,  such 
as  ginger,  gentian,  oil  of  peppermint,  etc.  In  other  words, 
while  the  stomach  needs  depletion,  the  general  system  needs  at 
the  srane  time  protection  against  the  drastic  effects  of  the  pur- 
gatives and  it  needs  tonlng-up  as  a  curative  agency. 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOJf.  279 

Purgatives. — The  best  purgatives  for  nearly  all  occasions  are 
Eposm  salts  and  raw  linseed  oil.  Whatever  may  be  the  method 
employed  with  other  classes  of  medicine,  purgatives  should  al- 
ways be  given  m.  a  hquid  form,  to  secure  more  prompt  and 
thorough  action  ;  as,  generally  (though  not  always),  a  medicine 
given  with  the  feed  has  to  go  through  the  slow  process  of  re- 
gurgitation and  remastication  before  it  can  pass  through  the 
four  stomachs  and  exert  any  effect.  A  long-necked  wine  bottle, 
or  a  cow's  horn  prepared  and  bottomed  for  the  purpose,  is  the 
best  implement  for  drenching.  It  is  best  to  let  the  sheep  stand 
naturally,  with  its  head  held  between  the  shepherd's  legs  ;  and 
the  tongue  should  not  be  drawn  out,  but  the  bottle  may  be 
thrust  well  dowTi  between  the  back  teeth,  thus  keeping  the 
mouth  open  as  long  as  desired. 

Bleedes'G. — The  best  place  for  bleeding  a  sheep  is  in  the  facial 
vein  below  the  eye,  or  on  the  inside  of  the  forearm.  If  it  is 
desirable  to  draw  a  considerable  quantity  of  blood,  it  should  be 
taken  from  the  jugular  vein  in  the  neck  ;  let  a  little  wool  be 
snipped  off,  the  finger  pressed  on  the  vein  below  the  cut,  and 
an  incision  made  lengthwise,  not  crosswise.  Half  a  pint  to 
half  a  teacupful  are  the  limits  within  which  the  amount  of 
blood  abstracted  should  range. 

Parasitic  Diseases. — Not  only  do  the  malodorous  secretions 
and  exhalations  of  the  greasy,  gormandizing  Merino  attract 
many  parasites  {epizoa)  to  the  exterior  of  its  body  in  summer 
but  the  closeness  with  which  it  crops  herbage  to  the  ground, 
and  its  omnivorous  habits,  expose  it  to  the  assaults  of  many  in- 
ternal parasites  {entozoa).  Cobbold  states,  in  his  valuable  work, 
"The  Internal  Parasites  of  our  Domesticated  Animals,"  that 
the  sheep  is  infested  at  times  by  at  least  eight  nematode  (round 
or  thread-like),  parasites,  of  which  seven  are  strongles  {Stron- 
gyli),  ^  hUe  the  eighth  is  the  common  whip-worm  {Tricocepha- 
liis  affinis),  of  the  ruminants.  Besides  these,  the  American 
Merino  is  subject  (though  less  than  the  sheep  of  England)  to 
the  ravages  of  one  of  the  trematode  (or  flat)  worms,  commonly 
called  a  fluke  (Fasciola  hepatica  of  Linnaeus,  Distoma  hepciticiim 
of  Rudolphi),  and  less  frequently — perhaps  not  at  all  fatally — 
of  two  others  (Distoma  lanceolatum,  and  Amphistoma  conicum). 
Then,  too,  the  sheep  is  the  unfortunate  host  or  bearer  of  one  of 
the  tcenioid  (or  jointed)  worms,  popularly  called  tape-worms 
[Tcenia  expansa) ;  of  the  brain  hydatid  {Coenums  cerebralis)^ 
which  causes  the  blind  staggers  ;  of  the  "bat"  or  larva  of  the 


280  THE   AMERICAN    MERIXO 

gad-fly  (Oestrus  ovis),  in  the  frontal  or  nasal  sinuses ;  of  an 
arachnidan  parasite  [Pentastoma  tcenioides),  also  a  tenant  of 
the  nasal  cavities  ;  and,  also,  of  a  species  of  Ascaris,  although 
there  is  little  positively  known  concerning  the  last  named. 
Then  there  is  an  entozodn,  termed  by  Dr.  Cobbold  the  "  mutton 
measle  "  (Cysticercas  ovis),  which  is  very  rarely  found  in  the 
flesh  of  the  sheep  in  England,  but  has  been  discovered  in 
African  mutton ;  and  three  species  of  the  Echinococcus,  chief 
of  which  is  the  E.  vetermorum,  encysted  in  the  lungs  and  liver. 
Lastly,  there  is  the  so-called  lumbriz  (presumably  Spanish,  from 
the  Latin  root  Jumbriciis,  and  which  I  find  spelled  in  six  differ- 
ent ways),  probably  a  species  of  Strongylus ;  and  the  "screw- 
worm  "  of  the  same  State,  a  product  of  an  oviparous  species  of 
the  Oestrus,  a  worm  more  destructive  than  the  common  sheep 
maggot. 

The  Lung  Parasites. — I  shall  treat  of  these  first,  because 
they  are  of  preeminent  importance.  Without  doubt,  they 
cause,  in  all  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi,  not  only  greater 
annual  loss  of  sheep  than  any  other  one  disease,  but  a  greater 
loss  than  all  others  combined.  Probably  four-fifths  of  all  the 
sheep  destroyed  by  disease  in  the  region  mentioned  are  lambs 
under  the  age  of  one  year,  earned  off  by  what  may  well  be 
termed  ovine  consumption,  the  insidious  ravages  of  the  lung 
parasite  variously  known  as  Strongylus  fiJaria,  Strongylus 
ironchialis,  Filaria  bronehialis,  etc.  When  mature,  the  male 
worms  are  about  two  inches  in  length,  needle-shaped,  yellowish, 
and  smaller  than  the  females,  which  are  three  or  four  inches 
long,  and  white.  They  are  found  in  the  trachea,  bronchi,  and 
universally  diffused  throughout  the  lungs.  In  the  spring,  the 
females  are  found  full  of  thin-shelled  ova  or  eggs,  and  free  em- 
bryos or  worms  already  hatched,  though  the  worms  yet  in  the 
eggs  appear  sufficiently  developed  to  be  able  to  maintain  an  in- 
dependent existence. 

How  the  germs  of  the  sti^ongylus  reach  the  lungs  is  not  clearly 
understood.  It  would  appear  that  there  are  two  stages  of  tho 
disease  induced  by  them  ;  the  first  stage  being  while  the  germs 
are  still  encysted  in  the  lung  tissues,  producing  what  is  mis- 
takenly called  tuberculosis,  from  the  number  of  small,  hard 
nodules  arising  from  the  irritation  of  the  foreign  bodies  in  the 
lungs  and  the  consequent  exudations  around  them,  together 
with  the  cretification  of  the  parasitic  deposit  itself.  Each 
nodule  is  small,  often  not  exceeding  the  size  of  a  pin's  head, 
and  if  it  is  squeezed,  there  is  felt  between  the  fingers  the  liai'd 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTON^.  281 

body  referred  to,  which  seems  to  be  designed  for  the  protection 
of  the  egg  or  eggs  within.  In  due  time  the  latter  hatch  ;  the 
worm  is  coiled  upon  itself  in  its  narrow  prison,  within  which  it 
begins  to  move  about  until  it  effects  its  escape  into  the  open 
passage  of  the  lungs. 

Now  supervenes  the  secondary  stage  of  the  disease,  that  of 
the  mature  worms,  which  have  by  this  time  taken  up  their 
abode  in  the  hronclu  and  trachea,  where  they  often  become 
knotted  into  loose  masses  or  balls  invested  with  mucus.  This 
stage  of  the  disease,  unless  relief  is  afforded,  speedily  has  a 
fatal  termination. 

As  already  said,  we  have  nothing  but  conjecture  to  offer  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  these  parasites  gain  access  to  the  lung 
cavities.  Dr.  Crisp's  view  is,  that  the  parasites  are  first  ingested 
by  the  animal  as  it  feeds  upon  the  grass,  where  they  are  lurk- 
ing ;  then,  after  being  warmed  and  nourished  for  a  short  time 
in  the  stomach,  they  are  carried  to  the  mouth  again  with  the 
regurgitating  cud,  and,  by  some  hook  or  crook  (for  here  his 
theory  is  defective)  manage  to  descend  the  trachea.  Dr.  G. 
Stuart  mentions  that  some  French  writers  hold  that  the  living 
parasites,  which  are  swallowed  by  the  sheep  with  mouthfuls  of 
grass,  find  their  way  at  once  into  the  windpipe  and  lungs,  with- 
out the  intermediate  journey  to  the  stomach,  then  back  to  the 
mouth,  etc.  Dr.  Cobbold  wisely  refrains  from  offering  any 
speculations  on  the  subject.  He  confines  himself  to  the  simple 
statement  of  that  which  is  known  concerning  them — that  the 
worms,  when  mature,  take  up  their  residence  in  the  bronchi, 
chiefly  in  those  of  a  medium  size,  where  they  produce  either  a 
simple  catarrh  or  an  inflammation  which  diffuses  itself  over  a 
great  part  of  the  lungs,  ultimately  causing  death. 

Dr.  Stuart  states  that  these  parasites  are  so  tenacious  of  life 
that  even  after  being  dried  for  a  month  they  show  signs  of  life 
when  moistened ;  and  that  they  survive  an  immersion  in  spirits 
of  wine. 

After  the  above  description  of  this  most  pernicious  and  tena- 
cious pest  with  which  the  Merino  lamb  has  to  contend  for  life, 
it  will  afford  the  shepherd  some  slight  relief  to  learn  the  par- 
tially compensating  fact  that  the  disease  created  by  it  is  not 
hereditary,  contagious  or  infectious.  Lambs  born  of  infested 
parents  always  have  healthy  lungs.  They  never  contract  the 
disease  except  by  swallowing  the  parasite  with  grass  or  other 
herbage  on  which,  after  being  coughed  up  by  other  sheep,  it  has 
taken  refuge. 


282  THE   AMERICAN   MERIJ^^O 

Symptoms — *'Paperskin."— Some  writers  contend  that  the 
parasite,  having  been  swallowed,  bores  through  the  tissues  from 
the  stomach  to  the  lungs  ;  and  cite  as  a  proof  of  this  the  fact 
that  it  is  only  lambs  which  are  attacked,  the  tissues  of  older 
sheep  being  too  tough  to  be  bored  through  !  It  is  only  during 
the  first  fifteen  or  eighteen  months  of  the  sheep's  existence  that 
it  is  exposed,  to  any  important  extent,  to  the  invasions  of  these 
parasites.  After  the  teg  has  passed  the  month  of  May  the  second 
time  in  its  life,  all  danger,  both  from  the  tenioid  and  the 
nematode  parasites  is  practically  over. 

The  symptoms  of  the  disease  are,  in  general,  an  anaemic  con- 
dition or  bloodlessness,  indicated  in  part  by  a  waxy  pallor  of 
the  sliin,  which,  in  popular  usage,  by  a  substitution  of  effect 
for  cause,  furnishes  a  common  designation  of  the  ailment — 
"paperskin."  The  blood  becomes  resolved  more  or  less  into  its 
elements,  in  some  cases  the  fibrin  being  apparently  consumed 
by  the  parasites,  while  the  serum  collects  in  a  watery  excres- 
cence under  the  chin.  In  this  case  the  disease  has  advanced  to 
an  incurable  stage  ;  I  never  knew  an  animal  in  this  condition 
to  recover.  There  is  a  very  perceptible  pallor  about  the  nostrils, 
languor  in  the  motions,  generally  much  thirst,  hardly  any  ema- 
ciation noticeable,  but  an  indisposition  to  travel  which  becomes 
plainly  manifest  when  the  flock  is  driven  a  few  moments.  The 
affected  animals,  as  if  aware  of  their  inability  to  keep  up,  retire 
to  one  side,  and  desire  to  be  left  alone.  Frequently  there  is  a 
deep,  exhausting,  but  almost  noiseless  cough.  In  an  advanced 
stage  of  the  disease,  the  wool  parts  readily  from  the  skin,  the 
fibers  having  become  so  attenuated  as  to  have  no  strength  to 
speak  of. 

Prevention  and  Treatment.  —  Concerning  the  source  or 
origin  of  these  parasites,  the  most  important  practical  fact  to 
be  borne  in  mind  is  that  they  are  most  numerous,  or  at  least 
are  found  in  sheep  in  the  greatest  numbers,  during  wet  seasons, 
or  among  flocks  which  pasture  most  on  lowlands  subject  to 
fogs,  and  more  or  less  overgrown  with  aquatic  (not  salt)  vegeta- 
tion. Hence,  the  necessity,  as  a  prophylactic  measure,  of  keep- 
ing young  sheep  off  from  such  pastures  as  much  as  possible, 
and  of  not  allowing  them  to  leave  the  stable  in  the  morning  un- 
til the  dew  is  dried  off.  These  are  preventive  measures  which 
would  suggest  themselves  to  everybody.  Others  will  be  men- 
tioned a  little  further  along. 

The  proper  treatment  for  sheep  suffering  from  this  affection 
should  have  regard  to  two  points  :    First,  to  support  the  strength 


FOR   WOOL  AKD   MUTT02S".  283 

of  the  sheep ;  second,  to  expel  the  parasites.  To  sustain  the 
strength  and  vitahty  of  a  sheep  already  affected,  though  it  is 
very  important,  is  exceedingly  difficult,  because  the  appetite  is 
feeble  and  capricious.  The  lamb  can  seldom  be  induced  to  eat 
enough,  even  of  the  most  nutritious  feed,  to  make  any  consid- 
erable impression  on  it  in  the  way  of  betterment ;  and  the  dan- 
ger in  giving  it,  by  force,  stimulating  gruels,  etc.,  is  that,  owing 
to  its  bloodless  condition,  the  process  of  digestion  will  be  so  iUy 
performed  that  the  feed  will  do  it  more  harm  than  good  by 
causing  scours.  High  feeding  is  of  transcendent  importance  as 
a  preventive  measure  ;  but  when  the  lamb  has  reached  such  a 
pass  that  vermifuges  have  to  be  employed,  it  is  necessary  to 
proceed  with  great  caution  in  giving  rich  feed. 

To  expel  the  worms,  some  shepherds  resort  to  fumigation. 
The  lamb  is  made  to  inhale  the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur, 
tobacco  or  chlorine  gas  in  a  tight  room,  as  long  as  the  operator 
himself  can  stand  it  in  the  lower  strata  of  the  atmosphere. 

After  trying  tar,  copperas,  soot,  sulphur  and  other  anthel- 
mintics, I  find  that  the  best  is  a  mixture  of  turpentine  and 
linseed  oil  in  equal  portions.  The  operator  must  be  very  care- 
ful in  administering  it,  or  he  will  strangle  the  lamb,  already 
enfeebled  by  the  treacherous  disease.  After  much  experi- 
menting, I  find  that  the  safest  method  is  to  let  the  lamb 
stand  naturally  on  the  ground,  between  the  operator's  legs. 
With  the  thumb  and  fingers  of  the  left  hand  inserted  in  the 
mouth,  hold  the  jaws  apart,  and  the  head  a  little  Ufted  up — a, 
very  little,  only  just  enough  to  cause  the  liquid  to  run  down 
the  throat.  If  the  head  is  held  back  too  much,  the  animal  is 
very  apt  to  be  strangled.  Have  about  a  tablespoonful  of  the 
mixture  in  a  longish-necked  vial,  stout  enough  not  to  be  easily 
crushed  between  the  teeth,  and  pour  about  half  of  the  amount 
at  once,  right  down  beside  the  tongue.  Do  not  attempt  to  hold 
the  tongue.  If  the  animal  chokes  and  coughs,  let  it  have  its 
head  until  it  recovers  ;  then  complete  the  dose.  This  ought  to 
be  administered  every  day,  for  two  or  three  weeks,  on  a  stomach 
emptied  by  a  twelve  hours"  fast.  This  small  quantity  of  the 
spirits  of  turpentine  is  better  than  a  large  one,  as  a  large  dose 
will  be  eliminated  from  the  system  through  the  bowels  and  kid- 
neys, while  a  small  one  will  be  removed  through  the  lungs ; 
and  it  is  the  vapor  of  it  passing  along  the  trachea  and  air-pas- 
sages which  are  offensive  to  the  worms. 

But,  unless  the  operator  is  much  more  careful  than  most 
.  fanners  are,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  danger  in  this  method  of 


284  THE   AMERICAI^   MERINO 

treatment.  It  is  an  extremely  easy  matter  to  kill  a  lamb  with 
a  teaspoonful  of  turpentine,  as  I  have  found  out  more  than 
once.  And,  at  the  best,  it  is  a  miserably  unsaiisfactory  and 
disheartening  labor  to  medicate  a  flock  of  pai)erskin  lambs. 
Prevention  is  far  better.  And,  indeed — unless  it  may  be  an  ex- 
ceptionally bad,  wet  year — it  argues  ill  for  the  watchfulness 
and  diKgence  of  the  flock-master  to  have  paperskin  get  any  con- 
siderable foothold  among  his  lambs.  True,  it  is  a  most  treach- 
erous and  insidious  disease — equally  so  with  its  congener,  con- 
sumption, in  the  human  family — and  a  flock  of  lambs  may  seem 
to  be  healthy  and  growing,  looking  plump,  and  continuing  to 
eat  about  as  usual,  when,  if  one  of  them  is  chased  smartly  five 
hundred  yards,  it  will  fall  all  in  a  heap,  and  probably  expire  in 
ten  minutes.  And  it  is  astonishing  how  much  indifference 
farmers  manifest  concerning  it — principally,  I  believe,  because 
it  is  not  a  demonstrative  disease — makes  its  inroads  silently, 
stealthily,  and  carries  off  the  youngest,  and  therefore  least  val- 
uable members  of  the  flock.  A  single  case  of  grub  in  the  head 
of  a  mature  sheep,  with  its  violent  capers,  its  agony,  its  tragic 
death,  will  cause  more  excitement  and  remark  on  the  farm  than 
the  loss  of  a  dozen  once  promising  lambs  by  this  obscui*e  disease. 
The  preventive  measure  of  transcendent  importance  is  high 
feeding.  A  thorouglily  vigorous,  well  nourished  lamb  seldom 
falls  a  prey  to  these  parasites.  If  the  farmer  has  found  by  pre- 
vious disastrous  experience  that  the  soil  of  his  farm  predisposes 
sheep  to  this  pest  (some  soils,  notably  limestone,  seem  to  escape 
it),  he  ought  to  adopt  some  plan  of  feeding  liis  lambs  all  sum- 
mer, or  at  least  from  the  time  when  wet  weather  sets  in.  Better 
get  them  accustomed  to  wheat  bran  ;  then  wean  them  a  month 
earlier  than  usual,  if  necessary,  in  order  that  they  may  be  fed 
liberally.  If  the  flock  is  large,  the  smaller  and  weaker  ones 
ought  to  be  put  in  a  flock  by  themselves,  and  receive  all  the 
wheat  bran  they  will  eat  up  clean,  twice  a  day.  If  a  little  oil- 
cake meal  is  sprinkled  on  it  in  the  trouglis,  better  still.  It  goes 
without  saying,  that  they  ought  to  be  housed  from  drenching 
rains,  kept  on  highland  pastures,  limestone  if  possible,  and  not 
be  allowed  to  go  afield  in  the  morning  until  the  dew  is  well  off 
the  grass. 

Use  of  Copperas.— The  summer  and  fall  of  1882  will  long 
be  remembered  by  the  flock-masters  of  Southern  Ohio  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  mortality  among  lambs  from  paperskin.  I 
addressed  a  large  number  of  inquiries,  orally  and  by  letter,  to 
the  best  shepherds  of  my  acquaintance,  and  received  many  re- 


FOR    WOOL   AXD    MUTTOiS'.  285 

plies,  from  which  I  will  condense  the  following  general  state- 
ment : 

The  great  majority  of  them  depended  for  protection  on  finely 
powdered  copperas,  kept  in  the  salt,  in  varying  proportions, 
from  one-twenty-fifth  up  to  one-fourth,  according  to  the  wet- 
ness of  the  season,  the  dampness  of  the  ground  and  the  liability 
of  the  flocks  to  the  disease  consequent  on  these  conditions. 
They  aimed  to  keep  it  constantly  in  the  salt  for  the  first  eighteen 
months  of  the  sheep's  life,  or  at  least  to  keep  them  on  salt  and 
copperas  two  or  three  weeks,  alternating  with  an  equal  period 
on  clear  salt,  for  the  above  named  length  of  time. 

I  am  specially  indebted  for  facts  to  Messrs.  C.  C.  Smith,  G. 
B.  Quinn,  W.  F.  Quinn,  R.  and  A.  T.  Breckenridge,  W.  R. 
Stacy,  J.  Cbadwick,  W.  M.  Buchanan,  L.  W.  Skipton,  L.  Leget, 
T.  Fleming,  C.  S.  Pugh. 

My  own  experience  with  copperas  has  been  highly  favorable, 
since  I  have  learned  to  keep  it  constantly  before  the  lambs  until 
they  Jiave passed  their  second  summer. 

Since  the  above  date,  Messrs.  G.  B.  and  Wm.  F.  Quinn  have 
decided  against  the  constant  use  of  copperas,  on  the  ground 
that  it  not  only  blackens  and  destroys  the  teeth,  but  creates  a 
depraved  appetite  in  the  sheep  which  demands  its  continuance 
through  life.  The  last  named  gentleman  has  abandoned  the 
use  of  it,  except  as  a  temporary  tonic  and  purgative.  He  gives 
it  finely  powdered,  a  pinch  as  large  as  a  grain  of  corn,  in  a  piece 
of  apple  ;  two  or  three  doses  like  this  ;  one  gn  every  other  day. 
He  claims  that  it  will  produce,  in  this  manner,  whatever  good 
effects  it  is  capable  of  producing. 

Mr.  W.  B.  Shaw,  of  Beverly,  and  Mr.  E.  J.  Hiatt,  of  Chester 
Hill,  use  and  recommend  pumpkin  seeds  for  paperskin.  If 
pumpkins  are  ripe,  they  are  split  in  halves  and  laid,  flesh  side 
up,  in  a  feed-trough  divided  into  compartments,  each  large 
enough  to  receive  a  pumpkin.  If  they  are  not  ripe,  a  decoction 
is  made  by  boiling  the  seeds.  For  tape-worm  or  other  stomach 
or  intestinal  parasites,  pumpkin  seeds  are  undoubtedly  effica- 
cious ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  if  they  would  avail  against  the 
strongylus. 

Dr.  Cobbold  attaches  great  importance  to  the  inhalation  of 
chlorine  gas,  in  case  the  animal  has  not  advanced  so  far  in  the 
disease  as  to  be  much  weakened. 

High  feeding  and  elevated,  dry  pasture  are  of  the  fijst  im- 
portance. 


286  THE   AMEKICAN   MERII^O 

In  conclusion,  I  will  add  that  it  is  very  important  to  break 
up  the  disease  by  expelling  the  parasites  before  winter  sets  in. 
The  vitality  and  condition  of  the  lamb  ought  to  be  fully  re- 
stored before  it  is  put  on  a  regimen  of  dry  feed,  as  then,  even  if 
the  worms  should  be  expelled,  it  is  more  difficult  to  build  up 
the  lamb  than  it  would  be  on  green  feed.  A  paperskin  lamb 
will  frequently,  if  only  slightly  infested,  linger  through  the 
winter  in  a  feeble  condition,  and  then  perish  in  less  than  two 
weeks  after  it  is  turned  to  grass.  The  juices  of  the  green  grass, 
while  weakening  to  the  lamb,  seem  to  impart  to  the  lurking  par- 
asites within  it  new  and  greater  vitality  ;  a  fresh  installment  of 
tliem  are  hatched  out. 

As  a  further  preventive  measure,  no  manure  from  a  shed 
occupied  by  infested  sheep  should  be  scattered  on  a  pasture  oc- 
cupied by  lambs ;  nor  should  lambs  be  allowed  to  graze  in  a 
field  lately  containing  others  that  were  known  to  be  the  bearers 
of  the  strongylus. 

"Buck-Fly  Grub." — A  correspondent  of  The  Shepherd's  Na- 
tional Journal^  in  Wayne  County,  Iowa,  describes  a  "  Buck-fly 
grub,"  which  caused  the  loss  of  four  valuable  sheep  of  his  flock. 
They  had  some  of  the  symptoms  of  lung  fever,  such  as  quick 
breathing,  frothing  at  the  nostrils  and  grinding  of  the  teeth. 
All  had  the  same  symptoms,  and  died  within  twelve  hours.  An 
examination  revealed  the  lungs  sound,  but  the  windpipe  was 
nearly  full  of  a  yellowish  fluid  and  froth,  in  which  were  swim- 
ming eight  or  ten  grubs,  from  one-third  to  two-thirds  of  an  inch 
in  length,  and  very  much  resembling  the  grub  or  larva  of  the 
CEstrus  ovis.  This  was  in  the  winter.  An  old  hunter  stated 
that  he  had  found  these  grubs  in  the  wind-j)ipe  of  the  deer  in 
winter,  but  never  in  the  summer. 

The  same  treatment  would  be  indicated  as  for  the  strongylus 
or  lung-worm. 


FOR   WOOL   Ai^D   MUTTOK. 


287 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


PARASITIC   DISEASES,   Continued. 


Liver-Rot. — The  liver-rot,  fluke,  or  "bane"  has  been  known 
among  sheep,  and  its  ravages  dreaded,  from  early  times.  There 
have  been  many  theories  as  to  the  nature  of  the  fatal  disease  ; 
but  of  late  years  it  has  been  shown  that  it  is  due  to  a  parasitic 
animal  which  inhabits  the  bile  ducts  of  the  sheep's  liver.  For 
several  years  researches  into  the  natural  history  of  the  pest 
have  been  carried  on  by  Professor  A.  P.  Thomas  on  behalf  of 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  and  the  completed 
investigations  are  given  in  part  I.  of  the  Journal  of  the  Society 
for  the  year  1883.  From  this  I  condense  the  more  important 
facts  discovered  and  reproduce  most  of  the  engravings. 

-The  fluke,  figure  29,  is  a  sucking  worm  somewhat  resembling 
the  common  leech,  of  a  flat,  oval  shape,  pale  brown  or  flesh- 
colored,  and  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  third 
in  length.  Near  the  head  is  a  sucker,  y,  by 
means  of  which  the  fluke  attaches  itself  to 
the  surface  of  the  infested  part.  The  mature 
fluke  produces  a  large  number  of  eggs,  which 
are  one-two-hundredths  of  an  inch  in  length. 
In  one  case  observed,  seven  million  eggs  were 
obtained  from  the  gall-bladder  of  a  single 
diseased  sheep.  Figure  30  shows  the  fluke's 
egg,  much  magnified,  as  it  comes  from  the 
sheep's  liver.  It  is  an  oval  body,  with  a 
transparent  shell,  which  allows  the  rounded 
masses  of  the  contents  to  be  seen.  The  eggs 
are  carried  with  the  bile  into  the  intestine, 
and  at  length  are  voided  with  the  droppings 
of  the  animal.  If  they  fall  upon  wet  ground, 
or  are  washed  by  rains  into  pools  or  streams, 
other  changes  occur.  With  the  temperature 
at  seventy-five  to  eighty  degrees,  an  embryo 
forms  in  about  two  weeks.  Figure  31  shows 
an  egg  with  the  embryo  fully  formed, 
and  figure  32  represents  the  same  when  hatched,  both  highly 
magnified.  The  broader  end  is  directed  forward  in  swimming, 
and  in  it3  center  is  a  peg-like  projection  which  is  used  as  a 
boring  tool.     When  the  embryo  meets  with  any  object,  it  feels 


Fig.  29. 

ADULT  FLUKE. 


288 


THE   AMERICAN   MERII^O 


about,  and  if  not  satisfied,  darts  off ;  but  if  the  surface  met  is 
that  of  a  certain  kind  of  snail — Limnceus  truncatulus  (figure 
33),  it  begins  at  once  to  bore  into  it.  The  young  fluke  spins 
around  on  itself  like  the  handle  of  a  cork-screw,  by  means  of 
the  many  hair-like  paddles  covering  its  surface.  The  objective 
point  is  the  snail's  lung,  in  which  the  embryo  fluke  soon  devel- 
ops farther  at  the  expense  of  the  juices  of  the  host.  The  form 
of  the  body  of  the  embryo  soon  changes  to  an  oval  shape,  shown 
in  figure  39.  This  is  distinguished  as  the  first  generation  in  the 
snail,  and  is  termed  the  Sporocyst,  which  means  a  bag  of  germs. 


1 


Fig.  30.— EGO  OP    Fig.  31.— egg  with    Fig.  32.        Fig.  33.— limn^us 

FLUKE.  EMBKTO.  EMBRYO.  TKUNCATULUS. 

These  sporocysts  grow  rapidly,  and  develop  offspring  which  are 
the  second  generation,  and  are  called  Redia.  Figure  37  shows 
a  magnified  mature  sporocyst,  containing  a  number  of  redia. 
The  largest  one  at  the  lower  end  is  well  developed,  and  will 
soon  force  its  way  through  the  walls  of  the  parent — the  wound 
healing  up  and  the  remaining  germs  continuing  to  grow.  The 
redia  are  more  active  than  the  sporocysts  and  migrate  from  the 
lung  to  other  organs  of  the  snail.  A  full  grown  redia  is  shown 
in  figure  36  ;  it  has  a  mouth  and  an  intestine,  and  produces  the 
third  generation.  The  offspring  of  the  redia  are  tad-pole  shaped, 
and  called  the  Cercarioe.  It  is  this  third  generation  of  the  snail 
parasite  that  is  destined  to  enter  the  sheep  and  produce  the 
liver  fluke.  The  cercarise,  one  of  which  is  shown  in  figure  34, 
leave  the  snails,  swim  around  for  a  time,  and  then  become 
attached  to  and  encysted  upon  grass  stalks.  These  cysts  remain 
dormant  until  picked  up  and  swallowed  by  sheep  feeding  on 
the  grass.  The  number  of  cercariae  descended  from  a  single 
fluke  egg  is  not  less  than  two  hundred,  and  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions,  over  a  thousand.  A  single  live  fluke  may, 
through  the  medium  of  tlie  alternation  of  generations  abcve 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTON". 


289 


described,  give  rise  to  more  than  a  hundred  million  descendants 
within  a  single  season. 

It  is  six  weeks  from  the  swallowing  of  the  tadpole-like 
animal  before  the  fluke  becomes  adult,  and  begins  to  produce 
eggs  in  the  liver  of  the  diseased  sheep.  It  is  seen  that  the  fluke 
alternates  between  a  particular  snail  and  the  sheep.  The  latter 
voids  the  eggs,  and  the  developed  embryos  enter  the  snails, 
which,  in  turn,  harbor  them  through  three  distinct  forms  the 
last  attaching  itself  to  herbage,  conveys  the  infection  to  the 
sheep. 

Now  that  the  life-history  of  the  parasite  is  known,  the  condi- 
tions for  its  existence  may  be  iinderstOGd.    Professor  Thomas' 


'tV.fta,- 


s-fe'SS 


safe-.--:^ 


¥m 


<Si, 


iMm 


Fig.  34. 

CERCARIA. 


Fig.  35. 
YOUNG  REDIA. 


Fig.  36. 

MATURE  REDIA. 


summary  is  condensed  as  follows  :  For  the  production  of  liver- 
rot  in  sheep,  there  must  be — 1.  Fluke  eggs  on  the  ground.  2. 
Wet  ground  or  water  during  warm  weather.  3.  The  snail, 
Limncevs  truncatulus.  4.  Sheep  to  feed  on  the  ground  infested 
by  the  fluke. 

The  eggs  may  be  introduced  in  manure,  in  earth  adhering  to 
the  feet  of  animals,  or  by  running  water,  especially  floods. 
Rabbits  and  hares  are  often  infested  with  liver  fluke,  and  may 
be  a  means  of  introducing  it.  The  production  of  eggs  is  pre- 
vented by  killing  all  sheep  suffering  from  the  disease.     There  is 


290 


THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 


no  cure  for  the  fluke,  as  it  inhabits  an  organ  not  easily  reached 
by  medicines. 

Symptoms  of  Rot.-  In  the  earlier  stages  of  this  terrible  mal- 
ady there  is  no  .way  of  discovering  whether  the  parasite  is 
present  in  the  liver  or  not,  unless  one  of  them  happens  to  be 
voided  in  the  excrement.  Indeed,  in  the  beginning  of  its  occu- 
pancy, it  has  a  positively  stimulating  effect  on  the  liver  ;  it  irri- 
tates and  goads  it  into  an  increased  activity,  which  causes  the 
animal  to  improve  in  condition  for  a  time.  Tlie  shepherd  often 
mistakes  this  improvement  for  a  genuine  gain  in  health  and 
vigor. 

Before  death  ensues,  the  animal  falls  into  a  deplorable  condi- 
tion.   The  belly  becomes  protuberant  and  pendulous,  the  spine 


Fig.  37. 

MATUBK  SPOKOCTST. 


Fig.  38. 

SPOROCTST  DIVIDING. 


Fig.  39. 

SPOBOCTST. 


is  reduced  to  a  condition  which  may  be  well  termed  ''razor- 
back,"  the  gait  is  feeble  and  tottering,  the  skin  becomes  dry  and 
flaky  aad  the  wool  begins  to  fall  off,  the  subcutaneous  tissues, 
especially  under  the  chin,  become  swollen.  Indeed,  it  is  this 
dropsical  excrescence  under  the  lower  jaw  which  has  always,  in 
my  experience,  constituted  the  one  pathognomonic  symptom 
of  liver-rot  as  distinguished  from  the  anaemia  produced  by  the 
Strongylus.  There  is  a  rapidly  increasing  emaciation,  frequently 
accompanied  by  scouring. 

A  post-mortem  examination  reveals  a  liver  much  swollen  and 
discolored,  and  it  is  so  rotten  that  the  finger  can  be  thrust  into 
it  anywhere,  tearing  it  into  pieces.  The  blood  is  nearly  devoid 
ot  its  coloring  matter,  and  is  reduced  in  volume  ;  water  abounds 


FOR  WOOL  Aiq^D  mutto:n^.  291 

everywhere  throughout  the  system,  the  flesh  is  pale  and  flabby, 
the  skin  waxen-white.  If  it  is  a  ewe,  the  udder  will  become  as 
white  as  paper.  The  heart  is  frequently  siurrounded  by  clear- 
looking  water. 

Prevention. — As  with  all  parasitic  disorders,  prevention  is 
highly  important.  Sulphur,  eaten  with  the  feed  and  passing 
thence  into  the  blood,  is  distasteful  to  all  parasites,  internal  and 
external.  But  common  salt  seems  to  be  almost  as  valuable  a 
preventive  against  the  fluke  as  copperas  is  against  the  Strongy- 
lus.  It  is  a  fact  which  has  been  observed  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, that  sheep  grazing  on  salt-marshes  are  exempt  from  the 
rot.  Along  the  coast  of  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States, 
otherwise  so  pestilential  and  malarious  to  men  and  animals, 
sheep  running  on  the  salt  grasses  are  observed  to  be  healthy. 

If  sheep  are  on  a  pasture  of  such  a  nature  that  the  farmer  is 
warranted  in  expecting  rot,  he  ought  to  examine  them  carefully 
once  a  week.  If  any  are  found  feverish,  with  the  distended 
and  rigidly  rounded  nostrils,  indicative  of  hard  breathing,  eye- 
lids and  the  sclerotic  of  the  eyeballs  yellow,  breath  hot  to  the 
hand,  let  him  at  once  remove  the  flock  to  high  pastures,  give 
dry  feed,  and  give  each  affected  sheep  two  ounces  of  Epsom 
salts  (one  ounce  to  a  lamb),  and  repeat,  if  necessary  to  physic 
the  animal.  Follow  this  with  two  grains  of  calomel  mixed  with 
one  grain  of  opium  daily,  until  the  fever  is  wholly  subdued. 
Plenty  of  common  salt  should  be  supplied  all  the  while,  and  as 
soon  as  the  use  of  the  calomel  is  stopped,  the  salt  should  be 
given  as  a  medicine — two  ounces  a  day,  with  a  dram  each  of 
ginger  and  ground  gentian,  mixed.  This  is  the  substance  of 
Mr.  Youatt's  prescription,  with  the  bleeding  omitted,  which  is 
almost  never  advisable  for  an  American  Merino. 

Tape- Worms  in  Sheep. — During  the  prevalence  of  the  ento- 
zoic  plague  among  the  sheep  of  Southern  Ohio  in  1883,  I 
received  letters  from  a  number  of  shepherds,  in  which  occurred 
such  expressions  as  these  :  "In  one  was  a  tape- worm  five  feet 
Jong,  besides  thirteen  grubs  in  the  head  ; "  "I  found  in  the  in- 
testines a  flat  worm  about  six  feet  long,  jointed  about  as  if  you 
took  a  wheat  straw,  flattened  it  down,  and  marked  it  off  with 
the  thumb-nail  every  half  inch,"  etc. 

A  sheep-owner  in  Hays  County,  Texas,  states  that  during  the 
summer  of  1880,  which  was  very  wet,  he  lost  forty-five  per 
cent,  of  spring  lambs  from  a  cause  not  ascertained  at  the  time, 
but  which  was  attributed  to  wet.  Rewrites,  July,  1881,  "that 
the  summer  has  thus  far  been  very  dry,"  and  that  his  lambs  are 


292  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

dying  a  month  earlier  than  in  1880.  Upon  examination  he 
finds  "in  the  small  entrail,  which  is  one  hundred  feet  long,  and 
runs  from  the  bowels  to  the  anus,  one  or  more  worms  of  great 
length,  white,  very  soft,  one-quarter  of  an  inch  wide  and  sus- 
ceptible of  parting  at  every  eighth  of  an  inch.  I  know  no 
remedy,  and  the  disease  is  very  fatal.  It  is  not  identical  with 
lombrez." 

In  the  American  Sheep-Breeder,  May,  1885,  M.  C.  Jackson,  of 
Denver,  Colorado,  stated  that  he  was  losing  about  one  hundred 
lambs  a  month  from  tape-worm.  "  Fat  lambs  go  as  quick  as  the 
poor  ones.  The  first  day  they  become  stupid,  second  and  third 
days  they  scour,  and  usually  on  the  fourth  day,  die."  He  says 
a  neighbor  began  the  winter  with  fourteen  hundred  strong, 
healthy  lambs,  and  had  only  three  hundred  and  seventy  left ; 
all  the  rest  died  of  tape- worm  ! 

In  Missouri  it  first  appeared  in  1875,  when  a  correspondent  of 
the  National  Live  Stock  Journal  reported  a  falling  off  in  his 
lambs,  followed  by  mild  diarrhoea.  In  less  than  two  months 
from  the  time  the  disease  made  its  first  appearance,  he  lost 
half  his  flock,  and  the  remainder  were  ailing.  On  examina- 
tion after  death  the  small  intestines  were  found  to  be  packed 
full  of  tape- worms. 

In  the  spring  of  1884  many  flock-masters  of  Western  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania  reported  to  Mr.  H.  Stewart,  the  author 
of  that  excellent  treatise,  "The  Shepherd's  Manual,"  that  there 
was  a  very  prevalent  and  mysterious  disease  in  their  flocks, 
which  some  of  them  attributed  to  barley  straw  on  which  the 
sheep  had  been  fed.  As  Mr.  Stewart  remarks,  all  bearded  straw 
will  sometimes  produce  disorder  among  ruminants,  from  the 
gathering  of  the  sharp  spines  in  the  cellular  coats  of  the  paunch, 
yet  this  very  seldom  becomes  a  serious  matter,  and  cannot  pos- 
sibly become  a  prevalent  disease. 

Cobbold  states  that  only  one  species  of  cestode  is  known  to  be 
present  in  sheep  in  an  adult  condition  ;  this  is  the  Tcenia  ex- 
pansa,  or  "long  tape- worm."  But  there  are  two  other  tape- 
worms which  occur  in  sheep  in  the  larval  or  immature  form 
{Tcenia  marginata  and  Tcenia  echinococcus).  From  this,  it 
would  appear  that  the  worms  seen  by  ray  correspondents  must 
have  been  of  still  another  species  ;  for  Cobbold  states  that  the 
"long  tape- worm"  is  thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  and  has  been 
known  to  reach  the  enormous  length  of  one  hundred  feet ! 

Symptoms  and  Cure.— Professor  Stewart  says,  in  an  article 
in  the  Country  Gentleman,  "  It  is  obvious  that  there  is  no  cure 


FOR  WOOL  AXD  mutto:n".  293 

by  medicine,  for  no  medicine  could  reach  the  creatures  encysted 
in  a  diseased  sheep."  This  is  true  only  as  it  applies  to  those 
tape-worms  which  exist  in  the  sheej)  in  a  larval  stage,  for  the 
mature  parasites,  many  yards  in  length,  which  have  often  been 
found  in  the  entrails,  are,  to  a  large  extent,  susceptible  to  the 
action  of  what  are  denominated  tceniafiiges  or  tape-worm  de- 
stroyers. 

The  symptoms  usually  developed  by  the  presence  of  tape- 
worms are  voracity  of  appetite,  alternating  with  refusal  of  food, 
loss  of  condition,  inclination  to  swallow  earth,  stone,  sand  or 
ashes ;  the  passage  of  soft  excrement,  mixed  with  mucus, 
and  evidence  of  internal  pain.  The  only  infallible  indica- 
tion of  the  presence  of  tape-worm  is  the  occurrence  of  its 
sloughed-off  joints  or  segments  in  the  sheep's  excrement. 
These,  the  flock-master,  unless  he  made  a  careful  examination, 
would  probably  mistake  for  the  clots  of  mucus,  such  as  are 
oft3n  voided  by  the  sheep  after  it  has  contracted  a  cold.  A 
close  inspection  reveals  their  annular  structure. 

It  is  usually  lambs  that  have  tape- worms  ;  they  pine  away, 
though  they  may  eat  all  the  while ;  frequently  have  diarrhoea, 
or  ratlier  dysentery.  After  death,  the  white,  many-jointed 
w^orms  are  found  in  the  small  intestines.  As  soon  as  the  first 
death  occurs,  the  shepherd  should  make  thorough  search  and 
satisfy  himself  as  to  tlie  cause.  If  there  is  tape-worm,  the 
lambs  should  be  fed  liberally  on  mixed  grains  with  salt,  to  keep 
up  their  strength.  Some  veterinarians  recommend  turpentine, 
mixed  with  linseed  oil,  as  prescribed  for  paperskin  in  the  fore- 
going chapter.  But  powdered  areca-nut,  or  santonine,  are 
considered  better  remedies  for  this  parasite  ;  a  dram  of  either, 
given  once  a  day,  in  a  little  milk  or  in  grain  feed  every  even- 
ing. After  the  flock  is  purified,  two  ounces  of  Glauber  or 
Epsom  salts  may  be  given  to  each  sheep  (one  ounce  to  a  lamb) 
dry,  or  in  water,  if  the  sheep  can  be  induced  to  drink  it. 

Other  Intestinal  Worms.— Professor  Simonds,  of  the  Roval 
Agricultural  Society  of  England,  describes  another  kind  of 
worm,  which  lays  the  foundation  fo:^  diarrhoea,  named  the  Tri- 
choceplialus,  or  hair-headed  worm,  which,  though  found  in  man, 
exists  to  a  greater  extent  in  sheep  than  in  any  other  domesti- 
cated animal.  These  worms  burrow  their  heads  into  the  mucous 
membrane.  The  worm  called  Sclerostoma  also  exists  in  sheep 
in  immense  numbers,  the  two  species  being  frequently  found 
together.  His  method  of  getting  rid  of  them  is  by  the  free  use 
of  common  salt,  and  sulphate  of  iron.     He  gives  the  salt  in 


294  THE    ilMERICAK   MERIKO 

quantities  of  a  quarter  to  a  half  an  ounce  at  a  time  ;  and  alter- 
nates it  with  sulj^hate  of  iron  on  every  other  day.  Half  a  dram 
of  the  latter  is  a  full  dose,  even  for  a  large  sheep. 

GiD  OR  Blind  Staggers. — I  have  never  seen  a  case  of  this, 
knowing  it  to  be  such,  nor  have  I  seen  an  A.merican  shepherd 
who  has  met  with  it.  It  was  probably  imported  from  England, 
and  it  seems  to  prevail  chiefly  in  the  Eastern  States.  Unwilling 
to  believe,  in  my  earlier  experience,  that  a  cause  apparently  so 
trivial  as  ' '  grub  in  the  head  "  could  destroy  an  animal,  1  made 
many  autopsies  of  sheep  that  I  supposed  had  died  of  bhnd 
staggers,  searching  carefully  through  the  entire  encephalon  for 
the  bladder  or  cyst  of  this  parasite  ;  but  I  never  f oujid  one.  To- 
day I  am  satisfied  that  they  all  died  from  grub  in  the  head, 
which  I  seldom  failed  to  find,  while  the  hydatid  sought  for 
could  not  be  discovered. 

Indeed,  the  only  important  difference  between  the  outward 
symptoms  of  hydatid  and  grub  is  in  the  length  of  time  which 
intervenes  between  the  first  manifestations  and  death.  The 
gi'ub  does  its  fatal  work  much  more  quickly  than  the  hydatid. 
The  sheep  infested  with  the  latter  ceases  to  eat,  stands  vacantly 
about  with  head  held  slightly  up  and  frequently  turned  to  one 
side  ;  it  seems  to  suffer  from  liemiplegia  or  paralysis  of  one  side, 
as  it  is  unable  to  rumtaate  or  chew,  and  the  mouthful  of  half- 
masticated  grass  fingers  long  in  the  mouth,  while  the  green-col- 
ored saliva  dribbles  down  the  lower  jaw.  The  animal  begius  to 
wander  aimlessly  about,  seeking  to  rub  alongside  the  fence  or 
rack,  as  if  for  support ;  in  the  yard  it  has  a  tendency  to  go  in  a 
circle  ;  blindness,  total  or  partial,  comes  on  ;  the  wretched  beast 
dashes  in  a  sudden  spurt  against  the  fence  ;  it  goes  down  on  its 
side  in  a  tremor,  rolling  its  eyes  in  agony ;  after  recovering 
itself  and  falling  a  number  of  times  it  remains  on  the  gi'ound 
and  dies  in  convulsions. 

When  the  case  is  long  drawn  out,  the  bladde*  or  tumor  on 
the  brain,  by  constant  pressure  on  the  skull,  absorbs  it  to  such 
a  degree  that  a  finger  pressed  on  the  spot  discovers  a  soft  place 
in  the  plate  of  the  bone,  of  the  latter  even  bulges  out  in  a  pro- 
tuberance an  inch  or  two  deep  and  twice  as  wide.  Twice  I 
have  seen  this  phenomenon  in  my  own  flocks,  and,  in  rude 
fashion,  lanced  them,  thereby  saving  the  sheep. 

Life  History  of  the  Gid-Hydatid. — The  veterinarians  differ 
on  some  points,  but  they  are  ai::reed  that  the  dog  is  responsible 
for  the  presence  of  this  parasite  in  sheep,  as  it  forms  p)erhaps 


FOR   WOOL  AXD   MUTTOJq-.  295 

the  best  illustration  of  Steenstrup's  scheme  of  alternate  or  dual 
generation.  That  is,  two  animals,  the  sheep  and  the  dog  are 
necessary  for  the  complete  development  of  this  pest. 

A  dog  infested  with  the  gid  tape- worm  {Tceiiia  coenunts)  passes 
through  a  field  in  which  sheep  are  kept.  His  excrement  will 
probably  be  deposited  near  a  tuft  of  grass,  or  in  the  fence-cor- 
ner ;  probably,  also,  it  will  contain  one  of  the  segments  which 
the  worm  is  continually  throwing  off,  each  of  which  is  full  of 
ripe  eggs.  Or,  these  eggs  may  have  escaped  from  the  segment 
within  the  dog's  intestines,  and,  passing  on  out,  may  be  adher- 
ing to  the  hairs  about  the  anus.  The  dog  enters  a  pond  to  cool 
himself,  and  some  of  these  eggs  are  washed  off,  and  the  sheep 
when  it  goes  to  drink  may  swallow  them,  or  may  ingest  them 
as  it  crops  the  grass  upon  or  near  which  the  dog's  excrement 
was  dropped,  the  eggs  having  been  liberated  by  the  rain  and 
left  adhering  to  the  gi-ass. 

The  eggs  are  hatched  soon  after  they  enter  the  sheep's  stomach. 
From  each  egg  there  emerges  a  minute  embryo,  oval  or  ovoid 
in  shape,  having  one  end  of  its  body  armed  with  sharp  cutting 
hooks.  With  these  it  bores  its  way  into  the  tissues  of  its  host 
in  various  directions.  Some  of  them  become  encysted  in  the 
lungs,  liver,  mesentery,  and  even  in  the  uterus,  each  being  en- 
closed in  a  bladder  or  tumor  full  of  yellowish  or  greenish  fluid. 
These  are  not  further  developed,  but  remain  encysted,  perhaps 
not  materially  injuring  then-  bearer,  unless  their  number  is  very 
great,  in  which  case  they  sometimes  produce  death  by  the  in- 
flammation in  the  peritoneal  membrane  which  they  cause. 

Others  x>enetrate  the  spinal  cord  or  the  great  nerve-trunks, 
where  they  produce  obscure  nervous  troubles,  or  partial  or  total 
paralysis,  and  other  incurable  diseases.  They  either  travel 
along  the  spinal  cord,  or  enter  the  arteries  and  are  borne  along 
in  the  blood  until  they  reach  the  brain.  The  substance  of  the 
brain  seems  to  be  specially  adapted  to  them,  and  in  it  (there  is 
generally  only  one  in  the  brain  at  a  time,  though  there  may  be 
as  many  as  four,  on  its  upper  surface,  in  some  of  its  extremi- 
ties, or  on  its  lower  surface)  they  undergo  a  development  differ- 
ent from  that  which  they  experience  anywhere  else  in  the  body. 

The  embryo  first  surrounds  itself  with  a  wall  formed  of  the 
brain  tissue,  and  in  this  it  increases  in  size  rapidly,  casts  its 
hooks  and  its  outer  wall,  and  develops  into  a  rather  thick  skin. 
There  now  appears  in  the  center  of  the  mass  of  cells  which  con- 
stituted the  body  of  the  embryo,  a  cavity  which  rapidly  enlarges 
and  becomes  filled  with  Uquid,  until  the  organism  consists  of  a 


296  THE   AMEEICAN^   MERIl^O 

simple  spherical  bag  of  about  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut,  tilled  with 
a  milk-white  iiuid.  The  symptoms  of  gid  disease — which  first 
appear  seventeen  days  after  the  hatching  of  the  embryo — are 
now  at  their  height.  Upon  the  outer  surface  of  the  cyst,  or 
*'  vesicular  worm,"  there  now  appear  at  many  points  (from  three 
hundred  to  one  thousand)  depressions,  which  gradually  elongate 
out  hke  the  finger  of  a  glove.  At  the  bottom  of  these  pockets 
booklets  now  develop,  and  on  their  walls  suckers,  so  that  each 
depression  becomes  a  perfect  "head,"  scolex,  of  a  future  tape- 
worm. These  "  heads  "  are  easily  seen  by  the  unaided  eye.  At 
this  stage  the  sheep  usually  dies,  and  being  of  course  useless,  is 
generally  thrown  out  where  in  all  probability  it  will  be  devoured 
by  dogs.— [R.  W.  Seiss,  M.  D.] 

The  immense  number  of  these  scolices,  or  heads,  of  the  hyda- 
tid, on  entering  the  system  of  the  dog,  would  insure  an  equal 
number  of  gid  tape-worms  ;  but  owing  to  the  extreme  difiSiCulty 
of  a  dog's  getting  at  and  eating  the  brain,  it  is  probable  that 
only  a  very  few  enter  his  stomach.  And,  indeed,  one  is  enough. 
Each  scolex  anchors  itself  m  the  stomach  or  intestines  by  its 
booklets,  and  quickly  develops  into  a  tape-worm.  The  circuit 
is  now  complete.  The  tape-worm  grows  and  forms  hundreds 
of  segments,  each  of  which  is  capable,  if  necessary,  oc  main- 
taining a  separate  existence  ;  but  they  are  usually  cast  off,  one 
by  one,  into  the  outer  world,  full  of  eggs  ready  to  do  their 
deadly  work  in  the  sheep,  as  above  described. 

For  some  reason,  not  well  explained,  it  is  usually  young  sheep 
that  are  infested  with  these  parasites,  as  with  all  others  that 
take  up  their  abode  in  the  viscera. 

The  Operation  for  Staggers. — I  quote  further  from  Dr. 
Seiss  :  "In  the  first  stages  of  the  disease  the  position  of  the 
tumor  can  only  be  decided  upon  by  a  thoroughly  educated 
veterinary  surgeon,  but  in  the  later  stages,  when  the  head  bones 
have  been  softened  and  bulged  forward,  anyone  accustomed  to 
handling  animals  can  locate  the  cyst  by  carefully  feeling  the 
head.  In  either  case,  the  best  mode  of  operating  is  as  follows  : 
With  a  sharp  knife  an  incision,  an  inch  in  length,  is  made  di- 
rectly over  the  tumor  down  to  the  bone,  which  should  be  cleared 
just  sufficiently  to  permit  the  passage  of  a  small  drill  (one  a 
fifth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  is  quite  large  enough).  The  skull 
is  carefully  penetrated  with  the  drill,  great  care  being  taken  not 
to  injure  the  membranes  of  the  brain.  The  cyst  is  then  punc- 
tured with  the  needle  of  a  strong  hypodermic  syringe,  its  con- 
tents withdrawn,  and  tlie  following  fluid  injected  in  its  place  : 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOiN^.  297 

CarboKc  acid  (pure  crystals),  forty  grains  ;  alcohol,  one  fluid 
ounce  ;  mix,  and  inject  half  a  teaspoonful  ;  this  is  allowed  to 
remain  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  in  turn  withdrawn.  The 
wound  should  then  be  carefully  washed,  *  *  *  left  open, 
and  daily  cleansed  with  a  gentle  stream  of  pure,  cold  water,  to 
each  pint  of  which  thirty  grains  of  pure  carbolic  acid  have  been 
added,  and  kept  covered  with  a  compress,  wet  with  the  same 
fluid." 

Prevention. — As  wdth  all  these  obscure  parasitic  diseases, 
prevention  is  a  hundred  times  better  than  cure.  All  sheep 
which  have  died  of  staggers  ouglit  not  to  be  thrown  out  for 
the  dogs  to  devour,  but  should  be  buried  deep,  or  burned.  All 
strange  dogs  should  be  kept  from  running  over  the  grazing 
grounds  of  the  sheep,  or  bathing  in  the  ponds  where  they  drink'; 
and  if  it  is  found  necessary  to  keep  shepherd  dogs  about,  it  is 
well  to  tie  them  up  for  a  few  days,  occasionally,  and  free  them 
from  tape-worms  by  giving  a  few  doses  of  some  vermifuge. 
Professor  H.  Stewart  recommends  a  half -teaspoonful  of  pow- 
dered areca-nut,  mixed  with  butter,  given  three  times  a  day, 
followed  by  a  dose  of  castor  oil,  and  continued  for  about  four 
days. 

**LuMBRiz." — This  is  the  name  (probably  of  Spanish  origin, 
and  spelled  in  many  ways),  which,  in  Texas,  is  applied  indiscrim- 
inately to  the  parasite  and  the  disease  produced  by  it.  Mr.  H. 
Chamberlain,  of  Nueces  County,  writes  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture:  "Lumbres,  a  complaint  wliich  up  to  1868  had 
annually  carried  oflf  many  thousands  of  spring  lambs,  commenc- 
ing in  July  or  August,  and  operating  upon  them  through  the 
fall  and  winter,  until  the  flock  frequently  became  exhausted. 
This  disease  follows  overflows,  and  a  superabundance  of  rank 
grasses.  It  consists  of  something  like  a  knot  of  long,  small 
worms,  resembling  hair,  in  the  stomach,  the  lungs  invariably 
becoming  infected  ;  the  outward  symptoms  resembling  con- 
sumption in  the  human  race." 

Henry  Bimdy,  writing  from  Atascosa  County,  Texas,  to  the 
Shepherd's  National  Journal,  says :  "  Lombrieze  consists  of 
little  worms  in  the  fourth  stomach  ;  they  are  about  the  color 
and  size  of  a  corn-silk  and  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
length.  They  consume  the  chyle  or  nutritious  parts  of  the 
food,  so  that  the  sheep  or  lamb  simply  starves  to  death,  often 
living  two  or  three  months  after  becoming  diseased.  The 
symptoms  are  :  A  dropsical  swelling  under  the  chin,  paleness  of 


^98'  THE   AMERICA?^   MERII^^O 

the  eyes,  lips,  tongue,  and,  if  a  ram,  pale  around  the  roots  of 
the  horns  ;  the  entire  skin  is  pale  ;  the  animal  soon  loses  appe- 
tite, mopes  around,  is  delicate  about  eating,  but  is  always 
thirsty.  The  blood  becomes  pale,  watery  and  of  small  quantity. 
It  occurs  principally  in  lambs,  but  sometimes  in  grown  sheep, 
and  the  greater  the  proportion  of  Merino  blood,  the  more  sus- 
ceptible are  the  sheep  to  the  disease.  There  is  no  certain  rem- 
edy known  in  this  section." 

A  correspondent  in  Dewitt  County,  Tesas,  states,  that  by 
feeding  a  half  bushel  of  com  per  head  through  the  winter,  fol- 
lowing a  wet  season,  he  checked  the  disease.  The  editor  of  the 
Shepherd's  National  Journal  advises  a  trial  of  oil  of  sassafras, 
mixed  with  an  equal  amount  of  castor  oil  or  of  linseed  oil. 

"Grub  in  ihe  Head." — This  does  not  require  much  notice 
in  addition  to  what  was  given  to  it  under  the  head  of  ' '  General 
Management."  When  in  summer,  sheep  are  seen  to  stamp  vio- 
lently wdth  the  fore-feet,  run  with  their  heads  held  close  to  the 
ground,  or  huddled  together  with  their  heads  under  each  other's 
bellies,  they  are  tiying  to  avoid  the  attacks  of  the  sheep  Gad-fly 
{CEstrus  ovis).  Many  farmers  entertain  two  erroneous  notions 
concerning  this  pest,  which  seem  to  be  very  difficult  to  eradi- 
cate. The  first  is  that  the  fly  deposits  eggs  in  the  sheep's  nos- 
trils ;  the  second  is  that  the  resultant  worms  or  larvae,  after 
ascending  the  nostrils,  penetrate  the  brain  itself.  The  gad-fly 
is  viviparous — that  is,  it  deposits  living  worms  in  the  nostrils. 
The  farmer  may  convince  himself  of  this  by  catching  a  fly  and 
squeezing  worms  from  the  ovipositor.  Dr.  Randall's  statement, 
repeated  by  Mr.  Stewart,  has  perhaps  done  more  than  anything 
else  to  perpetuate  the  above  mentioned  error. 

The  larvae,  or  worms,  do  not  penetrate  the  brain  itself,  though 
many  farmers  would  become  angry  if  told  so.  The  brain  is 
separated  from  the  nostrils  and  nasal  sinuses,  by  a  firm  wall  of 
bone,  which  these  parasites  never  bore  through.  There  are  few 
shepherds  who  have  not  seen  these  "grubs;"  they  are  occa- 
sionally found  in  the  feed-trough,  in  the  winter,  having  been 
expelled  by  the  sneezing  of  the  sheep  when  grain  feed  is  given 
to  it  dry.  The  figures  herewith  presented  are  taken  from  Ran- 
dall ;  they  show  the  grub  in  its  natural  size.  Figure  40  repre- 
senting the  half -grown  worm,  which  is  white,  except  two  brown 
spots  near  the  tail.  Figure  41  represents  it  of  full  size,  the  rings 
being  now  dark  brown.  Each  ring  has  darker  spots,  and  below 
them  are  others.     Figure  42  shows  a  full-grown  larva  on  its 


FOR   WOOL  AND    MUTTOX.  299 

back,  the  minute  dots  between  the  belly  rings  representing 
small  red  spines,  the  points  of  which  turn  backward. 

The  statements  of  Dr.  Randall  would  leave  the  reader  to  in- 
fer— though  he  does  not  so  state  in  terms — that  the  presence  of 
the  grub  in  the  frontal  sinuses,  brings  on  a  fatal  crisis  only  late 
in  the  winter  or  early  in  the  spring.  This  is  true  of  sheep 
beyond  the  age  of  one  year ;  but  lambs,  probably  from  the 
greater  tenderness  of  their  tissues,  cannot  carry  these  hostile 
guests  so  long.  I  have  frequently  known  them  to  succumb 
as  early  as  September,  and  that,  too,  with  lambs  yeaned  in 
April !     This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  the  number  of 


Fig.  40.  Fig.  41.  Fig.  42. 

THE   "grub"   or  larva  OF  THE   GAD-FLY. 

grubs  in  one  lamb's  head  reaches  as  high  as  thirteen,  as  attested 
by  my  friend,  Mr.  J.  Chadwick,  a  careful  observer.  We  have 
only  to  consider  how  dehcate  and  acutely  sensitive  is  the  mem- 
brane lining  the  nasal  passages,  purix)sely  so  made  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  nose  and  the  assistance  of  the  sense  of  smell  (to 
which  end  it  consists  largely  of  a  ramification  of  the  olfactory 
nerve),  to  understand  the  sudden  and  violent  fatality  following 
the  apparently  slight  irritation  produced  by  this  parasite. 

Symptoms. — These  have  already  been  sufficiently  detailed  un- 
der the  heading  of  ' '  Staggers."  Blood-streaked  mucus  is  gener- 
ally seen  issuing  from  the  nostrils  when  the  gnib  is  present,  but 
not  with  hydatid  on  the  brain.  I  may  here  repeat  what  was 
there  stated,  that  a  fatal  termination  may  generally  be  expected 
in  four  or  five  days  after  the  symptoms  of  grub  begin  to  be 
manifest. 

Treatment. — The  natural  and  simple  preventives  are:  plenty 
of  dust  for  the  sheep  to  lie  in,  and  stamp  in,  long  grass  to  graze, 
sheds  for  them  to  lie  in  during  the  middle  of  the  day.  Many 
American  shepherds  recommend  tar  smeared  in  the  bottom  of 
the  salt-trough.  Tar  is  alkaline,  and  is  apt  to  take  the  hair  off 
of  the  nose,  besides  rendering  the  hair  follicles  diseased  and 
unproductive.  The  Scotch  shepherds  mix  tar  with  whale  oil ; 
or,  better  still,  apply  the  whale  oil  by  itself,  rubbing  it  over  the 


300  THE   AMERICAK   MERIiq^O 

nose  frequently.    They  apply  it  toward  evening,  as  the  gad-fly 
is  busiest  just  before  sunset. 

Another  good  preventive  is  an  ointment  made  of  :  Beeswax, 
one  pound  ;  linseed  oil,  one  pint ;  carbolic  acid,  four  ounces ; 
melt  the  wax  and  oil  together,  adding  two  ounces  of  common 
rosin  to  give  body ;  then,  as  it  is  cooling,  stir  in  the  carboUc 
acid.  This  should  be  rubbed  over  the  face  and  nose,  once  in 
two  or  three  days,  during  July  and  August. 

A  canvass  face-cover,  smeared  with  this  mixture  or  with  one 
of  asafoetida  and  tallow,  may  be  hung  in  such  fashion  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  sight,  or  with  grazing,  and  yet  protect  the 
lamb  against  the  fly. 

When  the  grubs  have  obtained  a  foot-hold,  fumigation  gener- 
ally avails  little.  It  is  best  to  procure  at  the  dmg  store  (price 
about  one  dollar)  an  elastic  bulb-syringe,  with  a  small  noz- 
zle six  inches  long.  Mix  turpentine  and  linseed  oil  in  equal 
parts.  Accustom  yourself  to  the  action  of  the  syringe  so  that 
you  can  gauge  it  accurately.  Let  the  affected  sheep  stand  before 
you  in  a  natural  position,  and  carefully  probe  the  nostril  with 
the  nozzle  until  you  find  its  bearing  and  depth  (the  nozzle  will 
pass  up  a  surprising  distance — six  inches  in  a  grown  sheep). 
Then  charge  the  syringe,  introduce  it  to  the  extremity  of  the 
nasal  cavity,  and  with  a  quick  pressure  inject  about  a  teaspoon- 
ful  of  the  mixture.  Withdraw  at  once  and  let  the  sheep  recover 
somewhat  from  the  effects  of  the  shot,  then  treat  the  other  nos- 
tril in  the  same  way. 

If  the  summer  has  been  dry  and  hot,  it  is  best  to  treat  every 
lamb  in  this  manner  at  weaning.  Great  care  must  be  used  not 
to  strangle  the  lambs  with  the  turpentine.  Keep  the  mixture 
well  shaken. 


FOR  WOOL   AKD   MUTTON".  30] 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 
EXTERNAL   PARASITES. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  wool  of  sheep  is  inhabited  by  a  con- 
siderable number  of  parasites  peculiar  to  the  animal,  which 
seem  to  subsist  on  the  yolk.  M.  Levoiturier,  of  Elbeuf ,  France, 
in  a  communication  to  the  French  Acclimitation  Society,  stated 
the  results  of  an  examination  as  to  the  number  of  the  coleoptera 
found  in  wools  from  different  parts  of  the  world.  In  Australian 
wool,  he  found  forty-seven  species  of  insects  ;  that  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  fifty-two  ;  Buenos  Ay  res,  thirty  ;  Spain, 
sixteen  ;  Russia,  six.  But  these  insects,  while  perhaps  con- 
tributing something  to  what  is  known  as  "wool-sorter's  dis- 
ease," are  not  supposed  to  prey  on  the  sheep  itself. 

The  Scab  Insect  {Acarus  scdbici). — This  is  the  most  univer- 
sally distributed  scourge  of  the  sheep,  though  not  the  most  fatal ; 
perhaps  nine-tenths  of  the  area  of  the  various  countries  princi- 
pally occupied  by  the  Merino  are  subject  to  its  visitations. 
For,  Uke  the  itch  in  man,  the  yellows  in  the  peach,  and  many 
other  diseases,  the  scab  is  caused  by  a  parasite.  That  is,  the 
actual  scab,  or  crust,  is  formed  from  the  exudation  which  comes 
from  the  puncture  made  by  this  insect.  But  there  are,  un- 
doubtedly, predisposing  conditions  of  the  sheep  itself,  caused  by 
climate,  atmosphere,  dust,  heat,  etc.,  which  invite  the  attacks 
of  the  scab  insect.  Else,  why  does  it  prevail  in  one  part  of  the 
United  States  and  not  in  another  ? 

The  insect  is  hatched  from  an  e^g  deposited  by  the  female. 
One  male  insect  suffices  for  the  fecundation  of  several  females  ; 
the  latter  are  about  twice  as  large  as  the  former,  but  shorter- 
lived.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  pores  of  the  skin,  or  in  the 
depressions  of  a  scab  already  formed,  vast  numbers  being  laid 
by  one  female  ;  the  eggs  hatcli  in  three  days,  and  the  young 
insects  at  once  bore  into  the  skin,  causing  irritation  and  itching. 
Watery  pustules  arise  where  the  insects  entered  ;  the  sheep,  in 
torment,  scratches  and  bites  itself,  so  that  these  pustules  are 
broken,  their  contents  mingle  with  blood  and  forms  scabs  or 
scales,  which  frequently  cover  large  patches  of  the  surface. 

Symptoms.  — Sheep  infested  with  the  Acarus,  first  become 
restless  ;  then,  as  the  insects  begin  to  bore,  and  the  intolerable 
itching  sets  in,  they  rub  against  the  sides  of  the  shed,  against 


302  THE  AMERICAN   MEEUiTO 

posts,  trees,  etc.  ;  they  seize  their  wool  with  their  teeth  and 
tear  it  out  in  mouthfuls.  The  skin  is  whitened  and  thickened 
by  the  presence  of  the  insects,  and  soon  it  becomes  moistened 
by  the  yellow  exudation  from  their  punctui-es.  The  sheep  con- 
tinues to  pull  out  its  wool,  making  a  desperate  fight  against  its 
enemies  if  it  is  vigorous ;  presently  a  patch  is  stripped  quite 
naked,  while  the  infection  continually  spreads  in  all  directions, 
as  the  parasites  increase  in  numbers.  Yellow  and  brown,  or 
bloody  scabs  now  cover  the  space  they  have  devastated,  while 
all  around  is  an  irregular  ring  where  they  are  encroaching  on 
the  sound  skin,  and  the  wool  is  falling  before  the  assaults  of  the 
sheep  itself.  There  may  be  several  of  these  centers  of  contagion 
and  all  increase  at  once,  and  if  neglected  they  will  ultimately 
meet  and  merge,  covering  the  whole  back  of  the  sheep  with  a 
loathsome  crust,  if,  indeed,  the  wretched  creature  has  not  al- 
ready perished. 

Patent  Sheep-Dips. — The  live-stock  journals  of  the  "West 
contain  advertisements  of  a  great  number  of  proprietary  com- 
pounds, recommended  by  their  several  owners,  and  by  flock- 
masters  who  have  experimented  with  them,  as  infallible  cures 
for  the  scab.  No  doubt  all  of  them  have  some  virtue,  and 
probably  the  majority  of  them,  at  the  outset  of  their  manufac- 
ture, were  sufficiently  efficacious  ;  but  soon  cheap  adulterations 
creep  in,  if  not  positively  poisonous  ingredients.  Most  of  those 
who  resort  to  them  do  so  because,  like  the  clothing  sold  on  the 
ranches  of  the  Far  West,  they  are  "ready-made,"  and  therefore 
save  some  time  and  trouble,  which  would  be  required  in  com- 
pounding one's  own  prescriptions.  But  the  shepherd  who  cares 
to  do  his  work  well  had  better  stick  to  the  home-made  article 
composed  of  tobacco,  or  of  sulphur  and  lime,  as  described  below. 
Of  course,  this  is  more  or  less  offensive  to  lambs  whose  mothers 
have  been  immersed  in  it ;  but  the  same  objection  lies  equally 
against  the  patent  dips,  if  they  are  strong  enough  to  kill  the 
acarus.  If  the  novice  has  a  friend  who  is  a  veteran  shepherd, 
and  who  can  unequivocally  recommend  some  patent  dip,  from 
his  own  experience,  that  is  well  enough.  If  not,  he  had  better 
use  the  home-made  articles,  even  if  they  should  be  a  little  more 
expensive,  rather  than  experiment  with  proprietary  dips. 

*' Handling.  " — Mercurial  ointment  is  sometimes  applied  by 
hand  ;  a  little  wool  is  clipped  off,  and  the  ointment  is  well 
rubbed  in  around  the  scab  indication.  A  pint  of  kerosene  and 
a  gallon  of  buttermilk,  mixed  and  thoroughly  rubbed  in  ;  or  a 


FOR  WOOL  AKD   MUTTOIT.  303 

quart  of  kerosene  and  a  gallon  of  any  cheap  oil,  say  fish  oil ;  or 
mercurial  ointment,  oUve  oil  and  a  little  turpentine  ;  or  sulphur, 
tar  and  lard,  equal  parts — all  are  effective  if  thoroughly  worked 
into  the  wool.  In  Cahf ornia  a  '  •  dope  "  of  sulphur  and  linseed 
oil  is  applied  with  a  swab  or  a  "  6oaj)-root  brush,"  and  is  found 
efficacious. 

But  with  flocks  of  considerable  size,  or  where  the  scab  i8 
making  rapid  headway,  resort  must  be  had  to  more  wholesale 
treatment ;  either  the  "  dipping  "  of  Kansas  or  the  "  swimming" 
dip  of  California. 

The  Dip. — Different  formulas  prevail  in  different  States.  In 
Texas  and  New  Mexico  the  following  is  often  used :  Thirty 
pounds  of  tobacco,  seven  pounds  of  sulphur,  three  pounds  of 
concentrated  lye,  dissolved  in  one  hundred  gallons  of  water. 

In  Nevada  this  is  the  formula  :  Sulphur,  ten  pounds ;  hme, 
twenty  pounds  ;  water,  sixty  gallons. 

A  California  recipe  is  as  follows  :  Sulphur,  four  pounds ; 
Ume,  one  pound ;  water,  enough  to  make  four  gallons. 

A  recipe  given  in  Kansas  reads  thus  :  Sulphur,  twenty-two 
pounds  ;  lime,  seven  pounds  ;  water,  one  hundred  gallons. 

Sulphur  and  lime  are  probably  the  cheapest  recipe,  but  the 
lime  is  apt  to  injure  the  staple  ;  still,  this  recipe  appears  to  pre- 
vail over  all  others  in  the  scab-infested  regions.  The  addition 
of  arsenic  is  risky.  The  chief  objections  to  tobacco  are  two- 
fold ;  it  is  expensive,  and  if  applied  in  the  spring,  when  the 
wool  is  long,  it  stains  the  staple,  and  there  is  not  time  enough 
before  shearing  for  the  stain  to  wear  off.  Probably  tobacco 
and  sulphur  form  the  best  combination  known  for  treatment  of 
scab.  To  every  hundred  gallons  of  water  there  should  be  used 
thirty-five  pounds  of  good,  strong  tobacco  (if  stems  or  other 
inferior  parts  are  used,  there  should  be  more),  and  ten  pounds 
of  heavy  sulphur.  Flowers  of  sulphur  should  be  used,  and  not 
ground  brimstone,  as  the  latter  does  not  mix  so  well  with  the 
dip.  This  preparation,  used  at  a  temperature  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  degrees  Fahrenheit,  will  kill  all  acari,  ticks  and 
lice,  and  leave  the  skin  and  wool  in  a  healthy  condition.  But 
this,  Uke  all  other  dips,  to  insure  thorough  work,  ought  to  be 
applied  a  second  time,  in  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  to  destroy  the 
acari  that  have  been  hatched  out  in  the  meantime. 

Dipping. — For  flocks  of  a  few  thousand,  and  more  particu- 
larly in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  and  eastward,  dipping  is 
employed.  I  give  a  diagram  and  description  of  the  appliances 
used  by  Mr.  David  Fox,  of  Wichita,  Kansas  : 


304 


THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 


Appliances. — 1,  Figure  43,  is  the  dipping-vat ;  2,  2  are  the 
boilers  ;  3,  3  is  the  dripper,  divided  into  two  compai'tments;  one 
sheep-yard,  with  a  small,  three-corner  pen,  next  to  the  dipping 
vat,  which  is  of  great  convenience  for  catching  sheep,  all  of 
which  are  showTi  in  diagi'am.  The  vat  is  made  of  two-inch 
clear  lumber,  well  braced  and  bolted  together  so  that  it  is  per- 


^^31 


^ 


aiJ-'Ji 


o 


Pa 
O 

55 


CO 

P=4 


fectly  water-tight,  sixteen  feet  long  on  top,  twelve  feet  long  at 
bottom,  which  gives  four  feet  slope,  with  slats  on  the  inside  for 
the  sheep  to  walk  out  of  the  vat  to  the  dripping  floor,  six 
inches  wide  at  the  bottom  on  the  inside,  sixteen  inches  wide  on 
top,  four  feet  and  a  half  in  depth.  Three  and  a  half  feet  of  dip 
is  plenty  to  work  with,  but  the  vat  sliould  be  deep  enough  to 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOK.  305 

allow  one  foot  above  the  dip  to  catch  the  splashing  of  the  dip 
caused  by  the  struggles  of  the  sheep.  There  should  be  two 
bars  across  the  vat,  at  the  level  of  the  dip,  at  equal  distances, 
dividing  it  into  three  equal  parts.  At  each  division  should  be 
a  good  tiTisty  man.  His  duties  I  give  below.  The  vat  is  set 
into  the  ground  two  feet  and  a  half,  leaving  two  feet  above 
ground.  If  the  ground  is  conveniently  located  to  lay  an  escape 
pipe  to  the  bottom  of  the  vat,  it  would  be  a  great  convenience 
for  cleaning  out  the  vat  after  dipping.  This  apparatus  requires 
to  be  located  where  water  is  plenty.  2,  2  are  the  boilers, 
which  are  one  on  each  side  of  the  vat  and  about  six  feet  from 
it.  They  are  made  of  one  and  a  half  inch  lumber  for  sides.  I 
bought  fourteen  feet  plank,  sawed  them  in  two  in  the  middle; 
then  cut  a  circle  on  each  end  for  the  ends  of  the  boiler ;  then 
took  sheet-iron  thirty  inches  wide  and  eight  feet  long  and  nailed 
it  solid  to  the  plank,  which  makes  the  bottom  of  the  boiler. 
Across  the  top  nail  three  pieces  of  one  by  four  lumber,  at  equal 
distances,  to  keep  it  from  spreading.  These  boilers  should  be 
set  on  a  furnace  built  up  two  feet  from  the  ground  with  brick 
or  stone.  The  space  between  the  two  sides  of  the  furnace 
should  be  eight  inches  narrower  than  the  boiler,  giving  four 
inches  on  each  side  for  the  boiler  to  rest  on.  The  furnace  should 
be  open  at  each  end,  and  a  flue  made  of  sheet-iron  seven  feet 
long,  and  one  end  made  to  fit  either  end  of  the  furnace,  so  that 
it  can  be  easily  changed  from,  one  end  to  the  other  to  correspond 
with  the  direction  of  the  wind.  This  flue  being  seven  feet  high 
will  conduct  the  smoke  out  of  the  way  of  men  and  sheep. 

Pens  for  the  Flock. — 3,  3  is  the  dipping  floor,  which  is  six- 
teen feet  square,  made  of  flooring  well  braced  underneath  with 
joist,  and  set  up  on  a  foundation  high  enough  for  the  bottom  of 
the  dripper  to  rest  on  the  vat.  The  foundation  around  the  out- 
side of  the  dripper  should  be  built  about  three  inches  higher 
than  the  supports  under  the  center,  so  as  to  spring  the  floor 
enough  to  make  the  dip  run  towards  the  center,  with  a  strip 
across  the  two  corners  next  to  the  vat,  to  conduct  the  drippings 
from  the  sheep  into  the  vat.  This  dripping  floor  should  be  en- 
closed by  fence.  A  panel  fence  (5)  fourteen  feet  long  is  placed 
across  the  center  of  the  dripping  floor.  Two  of  the  bottom 
boards  of  the  fence  of  the  dripper  on  the  side  next  to  the  vat 
should  be  cut  out  the  width  of  the  vat,  and  a  small  gate  (6) 
fastened  to  the  division  panel,  so  that  it  can  be  swung  to  either 
side  of  the  vat,  that  when  one  part  of  the  dripper  is  filled  with 
sheep  this  gate  can  be  swung  around,  closing  the  pen  that  the 


306  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

sheep  are  in  and  leaving  the  other  side  open  for  the  sheep  to  go 
into  the  other  side.  By  the  time  this  last  half  of  the  dripper  is 
filled  with  sheep  the  first  lot  will  be  ready  to  go  out,  and  con- 
tinue in  like  manner  until  dipping  is  finished.  4,  4  are  gates 
to  let  the  sheep  out  of  the  dripper.  8  is  the  yard  for  the  sheep 
before  dipping  is  commenced.  It  should  be  built  so  as  to  make 
a  small,  three-cornered  pen  (9)  next  to  the  vat,  large  enough  to 
hold  fifty  or  seventy-five  sheep,  which  would  be  handy  to  the 
vat  and  make  it  easy  to  catch  the  sheep. 

Necessity  of  Thoroughness.— This  yard  should  be  made 
penitentiary  tight  and  so  strong  that  it  is  impossible  for  any 
sheep  to  escape  undipped.  Should  a  single  sheep  get  out  and 
mingle  with  those  already  dipped,  unnoticed,  that  had  a  single 
living  female  acarus  on  it,  it  would  in  a  short  time  infect  the 
whole  flock  ;  hence,  the  importance  of  thoroughness  from  be- 
ginning to  end. 

The  Process  of  Dipping. — Put  the  tobacco  in  gunny  sacks 
and  place  them  in  the  boiler,  filled  with  cold  water,  and  let 
them  soak,  at  the  least,  twelve  hours  ;  then  start  the  fire  and 
bring  the  water  to  almost  boiling.  Then  let  it  simmer  for  six 
hours  so  as  to  extract  all  the  strength  from  the  tobacco  ;  this 
should  be  done  the  day  before  the  dipping  is  commenced,  as 
usually  the  boiling  capacity  is  too  small,  and  with  the  hurry  to 
get  done  the  strength  does  not  get  extracted  from  the  tobacco. 
In  moderate  weather  three-fourths  of  the  dip  required  to  com- 
mence work  can  be  put  in  the  dipping  vat  over  night,  and  will 
still  be  very  warm  next  morning.  The  boilers  can  be  filled  up 
again  at  the  same  time  and  a  good  fire  left  under  them  ;  then  a 
good  fire,  started  early  next  morning,  will  soon  bring  it  to  a 
boil.  If  run  to  the  full  capacity,  which  is  about  one  thousand 
sheep  per  day,  six  good,  strong  men  will  be  needed  ;  one  to  at- 
tend fire  and  oversee  the  work  and  see  that  every  man  does  his 
duty.  This  overseer  should  be  the  owner  of  the  sheep  or  the 
one  most  interested.  If  the  sheep  are  very  scabby,  two  men 
should  be  stationed  in  the  sheep  pen  with  a  curry-comb  or  stiff 
brush  to  thoroughly  scratch  and  break  up  every  scabby  patch 
on  the  sheep,  then  put  it  into  the  vat  head  first.  Now,  the  man 
that  stands  at  the  first  division  of  the  vat  takes  charge  of  the 
sheep  and  thoroughly  rubs  all  the  scabby  spots,  and  moves  it 
easily  up  and  down  in  the  dip  in  order  that  the  dip  can  pene- 
trate all  wrinkles  and  folds.  This  man  should  occupy  fully  one 
minute  with  each  sheep,  then  pass  it  under  the  cross-bar  and  on 


FOR    WOOL    AXD    MUTTOX.  307 

to  the  second  man,  who  occupies  an  equal  length  of  time  in  the 
same  manner  ;  then  he  pushes  the  sheep  under  the  second  bar 
and  allows  it  to  go  out  of  the  vat. 

The  Swimming  Method. — For  very  large  flocks,  and  more 
particularly  in  California  and  other  Pacific  regions,  this  method 
is  employed,  requiring  larger  pens,  vats  and  boilers.  I  give  a 
diagram  of  those  used  by  Mr.  Charles  Crane,  of  ]Millard  County, 
Utah,  with  an  elevation  of  the  corral,  figure  44. 

A  is  the  chute  from  a  large  corral ;  5  is  a  sloping  board  over 
which  the  sheep  in  attempting  to  pass  to  decoy  pen  C,  slide 
into  tank  D,  which  is  generally  twenty  feet  long,  four  feet  six 
inches  deep,  and  sixteen  feet  at  the  bottom,  thus  giving  it  a  slope 
at  the  outlet  of  four  feet,  two  feet  wide  at  top  and  eight  inches 
at  bottom,  thus  compelling  the  sheep  to  swim  in  the  middle  of 
the  tank.  £"  is  a  board  fastened  in  tank  with  cleats  on  it,  to 
enable  the  sheep  to  obtain  a  foot-hold  in  walking  out.  F,  F 
are  draining  pens  (water  tight),  and  sloping  to  sluice  box  in 
center  which  carries  the  dip  again  into  tank  D.  C  is  a  decoy 
pen  containing  a  few  sheep  to  entice  the  sheep  in  the  chute.  H 
is  a  pen  into  which  to  dodge  sheep  not  required  to  be  dipped. 
L  is  the  dodge  gate.  This  tank  can  be  made  of  one  inch  pine 
boards,  and  lined  with  galvanized  iron  ;  Xo.  20  will  do,  which 
makes  it  water  tight,  and  gives  no  footing  to  the  sheep.  K,  K 
are  pieces  of  two  by  six,  twelve  feet  long,  bolted  lengthways 
of  the  tank  and  four  feet  from  each  end,  and  six  inches  from 
top  of  tank,  leaving  a  twelve-inch  space  through  which  the 
sheep  must  put  their  heads,  preventing  those  in  the  rear  from 
riding  those  in  front  and  thereby  drowning  them,  at  the  same 
time  keeping  their  backs  under  the  dip.  While  in  the  tank,  the 
scab  can  be  broken  up,  teeth  looked  at,  and,  as  the  sheep  pass 
out,  branded.  The  draining  pens,  F,  F,  are  regulated  by  a 
gate  at  E,  and  can  be  filled  alternately,  thus  allowing  one  pen 
to  drain  while  the  other  is  being  filled.  An  opening  is  made 
whereby  the  sheep  escape  from  the  draining  floors,  and  can 
then  be  combed. 

Many  dispense  with  the  sloping  board,  B,  and  use  pen,  H;  par- 
ticularly when  the  ewes  are  heavy  with  lamb,  the  sheep  are 
dropped  carefully  into  the  tank,  rump  first.  A  boy  is  often 
placed  behind  the  sloping  board  B,  with  a  short  stick,  to  push 
the  sheep  in  as  they  pass  over  it.  A  man  or  two  stands  at  the 
tank  to  regulate  the  passage  of  the  sheep,  examine  teeth,  break 
scab,  brand,  etc.  ;  two  thousand  is  a  usual  day's  work,  and 
that  number  can  easily  be  passed  through  in  ten  hours. 


308 


THE   AMERICAN   MERIN^O 


FOR   WOOL   AND    MUTTOT^.  309 

Boilers  and  Vats. — Two  one-hundred  orallon  boilers  and 
two  four-hundred  gallon  store-vats  (not  shown  in  the  plan)  are 
required  for  a  flock  of  two  to  four  thousand  sheep  when  to- 
bacco is  used.  Where  the  storage  capacity  is  limited  it  is  well 
to  prepare  beforehand  a  very  strong  infusion  of  tob&cco,  say 
one  pound  to  the  gallon,  and  dilute  it  when  needed.  The  to- 
bacco should  be  steeped  in  two  waters  to  extract  all  the 
strength. 

In  localities  where  convenient,  and  where  the  expense  would 
be  too  great  for  one,  several  frequently  join  and  build  a  corral 
and  dipping-tank,  each  paying  his  proportion  of  the  general  ex- 
pense, according  to  the  number  of  his  sheep  dipped.  By  a  care- 
ful selection  of  ground  expenses  may  be  greatly  reduced.  The 
dipping  station  should  be  near  a  stream  if  possible.  A  V-trough 
carries  the  water  to  the  boiler,  which,  when  hot,  is  allowed  to 
run  into  the  steeping-tank  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom  ;  when 
steeped,  another  plug  is  drawn,  and  the  now  prepared  dip 
runs  into  the  tank. 

"Spotting." — The  whole  flock  ought  to  be  dipped  twice 
within  ten  days — once  before  shearing  to  remove  the  scab  in- 
sects from  the  wool,  else  the  flock  will  infect  the  shearing- 
floor,  and  the  contagion  will  be  perpetuated  ;  then  immedi- 
ately after  shearing,  when  the  skin  is  exposed,  a  second  dipping 
will  ensure  a  complete  extirpation  of  the  insects.  But  if  the 
flocks  are  very  badly  infected,  it  is  well  to  select  out  the  worst 
cases  and  give  them  three  or  four  dippings,  extra  strong  and 
hot.  After  the  first  dipping  let  the  "spotted"  flock  be  handled 
— that  is,  examined — and  the  scabs  and  scraps  of  wool  removed, 
so  that  the  second  and  subsequent  baths  will  penetrate  to  every 
lurking  place  of  the  insects. 

The  Vat. — This  should  be  at  least  sixteen  feet  long,  to 
keep  the  sheep  in  the  water  a  minute  or  so,  and  deep  enough  to 
prevent  it  at  all  times  from  touching  bottom.  The  vat  should 
be  tongued,  grooved  and  pitched,  and  should  be  closely  covered 
up  when  not  in  use,  to  prevent  the  sun  from  warping  and  split- 
ting the  boards.  If  an  inch  gauge  is  placed  on  the  inside,  and 
the  capacity  of  the  vat  ascertained  in  gallons,  it  may  be  known 
at  any  time  at  a  glance  how  many  gallons  the  vat  contains. 

Draining- Yards. — These  yards  should  hold  one  hundred 
sheep  apiece,  and  be  at  least  two  in  number,  to  allow  the  dipped 
sheep  to  drip  thoroughly  before  they  are  turned  out.  Corru- 
gated iron,  laid  down  in  long  sheets,  or  sheet-iron  roofing,  is  the 


310  THE   AMERICAN   MERIKO 

best  material  for  the  flooring  of  these  yards.  It  should  be  laid 
down  on  sleepers  close  together,  and  the  joints  or  seams  pro- 
tected from  the  trampling  of  the  sheep  by  narrow  strips  of 
of  wood  nailed  alongside.  The  same  kind  of  strips  nailed  trans- 
versely on  the  incline  will  enable  the  sheep  to  come  up  out  of  the 
vat  without  slipping. 

When  to  Dip. — In  the  spring  the  feed  is  better,  the  days 
are  longer  and  warmer,  the  sheep  are  gaining  in  flesh,  the  sul- 
phur is  more  abundant,  the  wool  grows  faster,  and  the  sheep 
are  thriving  and  lively  ;  then  is  the  time  to  annihilate  the 
acanis.    One  gallon  of  dip  applied  then  is  worth  two  in  the  fall. 

Never  fail  to  dip  the  lambs ;  if  the  ewes  have  the  scab  the 
lambs  will  also,  and  if  allowed  to  escape  dipping  will  surely 
convey  it  to  the  flock  ;  besides,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  detect 
the  scab  in  young  lambs,  particularly  if  short-wooled  ones  ;  dip 
previous  to  castration,  and,  if  possible,  ten  days  after,  leaving 
no  living  acariis  to  propagate. 

How  Often  to  Dip. — The  best  flock -masters  in  the  most 
scabby  districts — which  seem  to  be  nearly  coterminous  with  the 
alkali  in  the  soil — practice  dipping  twice  a  year — once  after  each 
shearing.  It  not  only  cleans  the  sheep  of  the  acari,  but  also  of 
the  ticks  ;  and  prevention,  with  both  classes  of  parasites,  is  pre- 
eminently important. 

Fences. — In  Texas  great  importance  is  attached  by  flock- 
masters  to  wire  or  other  fences  as  a  preventive  of  contagion. 
It  is  claimed  that  a  three-wire  fence  will  exclude  all  sheep  from 
other  ranges,  and  thus  protect  the  shepherd  who  is  disposed  to 
keep  his  flocks  clean  from  those  who  are  careless  in  this  regard. 
These  fences  would  require  extra  strength  on  the  side  toward 
which  sheep  usually  "  drift"  in  northers  or  other  severe  winds, 
to  resist  the  pressure  of  large  flocks  crowding  against  them.  It 
may  well  be  doubted,  however,  whether  a  single  line  of  fence 
of  any  kind  would  wholly  exclude  the  contagion,  since  it  is 
known  that  the  scab  insect  lingers  for  weeks  on  posts,  stones  or 
on  the  ground.  Besides  that,  the  well-known  gregariousness  of 
sheep  would  lead  them  to  come  into  close  juxtaposition  on  op- 
posite sides  of  the  fence,  allowing  the  transit  of  the  acari  from 
one  to  another. 

Sheep  care  less  for  the  barbs  than  most  other  animals,  and 
they  will  crowd  through  narrow  spaces  if  they  have  to  leave 
their  wool  on  the  barbs.  The  distance  apart  which  will  be  nec- 
essary to  exclude  them  securely  will  depend  on  the  size  of  th? 


FOR   WOOL   AJ^D   MrTTOiq".  311 

sheep,  the  tension  of  the  wires,  and  the  attraction  on  the  other 
side.  Measure  the  size  of  the  animals,  and  then  place  the  wires 
decidedly  nearer  than  these  measurements  would  indicate.  The 
accompanying  engraving  represents  a  successful  fence  employed 
on  the  fann  of  the  late  George  (jcddes.  It  was  first  made  of 
three  barb  wires,  placed  at  about  the  usual  distances,  the  lower 
being  about  eight  or  ten  inches  from  the  earth  bank,  the  next 
nearly  a  foot  higher,  and  the  third  sixteen  inches.  The  sheep 
crowded  through  the  lower  wires,  and  were  not  deterred  by 
them.  Two  common,  smooth  and  cheap  wires  were  then  added 
in  the  two  lower  spaces,  and  these,  although  insufficient  in 
themselves,  operated  by  crowding  the  heads  of  the  animals 
against  the  neighboring  bai'bs,  and  preventing  further  effort. 


>*"»  hvfl 


Fig.  46.— GEORGE  GEDDES'   SHEEP-FENCE. 

The  bank  of  earth,  a  foot  high,  made  the  fence  a  visible  barrier, 
and  this,  w4th  the  shallow,  open  ditch  on  each  side,  deten-ed 
other  animals  from  running  or  pressing  against  it.  This  fence 
may  be  modified  by  nailing  a  board  near  the  bottom  if  the  posts 
are  near  enough,  but  in  the  form  shown  in  the  figure  the  posts 
may  be  more  remote  and  the  cost  less. 

Destroying  Infection.— When  a  sheep,  from  neglect,  be- 
comes wasted  by  its  struggles  to  free  itself,  and  by  the  fever  and 
irritation  produced  by  the  scab  insects,  it  is  in  a  very  poor  con- 
dition for  winter,  and  will  probably  succumb  to  the  storms.  In 
every  State  infested  by  scab  there  ought  to  be  stringent  laws 
for  the  inspection  of  sheep,  by  an  official  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, for  the  protection  of  the  community  at  large  against  the 
flocks  of  men  too  shiftless  to  cleanse  them.  All  sheep  which 
have  died  from  scab  ought  to  be  buried  at  least  two  feet  deep, 
or  their  graves  covered  with  brush  and  stones,  to  keep  away 
dogs  ;   or  their  bodies  should  be  burned  or  boiled  down. 

Prevention. — A  liberal  supply  of  sulphur  in  the  salt  in  the 
summer  (not  in  the  winter — it  is  risky  then),  is  efficacious  in 


312  THE   AMERICAI^   MERINO 

preventing  scab.     Flowing  in  the  sheep's  blood,  sulphur  is  of- 
fensive to  the  acarus. 

Scab  in  the  East. — Sometimes,  though  very  rarely,  a  case 
of  scab  occurs  in  the  Cismississippi,  or  other  of  the  Southern 
States,  where  a  resort  to  the  wholesale  methods  of  dipping  prac- 
ticed in  the  West  would  be  impracticable.  Where  this  is  the 
case,  the  following  remedy  may  be  used  :  Take  palm  oil,  one 
pound ;  lard,  or  beef  suet,  one  pound  ;  melt  together  and  add 
soap,  one  pound ;  carbolic  acid,  eight  ounces  ;  potash,  four 
ounces.  Mix  all  together.  Take  a  sufficient  quantity  that, 
added  to  one  quart  of  boiling  water,  will  make  an  ointment  of 
the  consistency  of  cream  ;  part  the  wool  of  the  sheep  and  rub 
the  affected  spots  well  over,  twice  a  week. 

Ticks  and  Lice. — The  sheep  of  the  careless  farmer  is  nearly 
always  infested  with  the  tick  {Melopliagus  ovis),  and,  less 
frequently,  with  the  louse  (Trichodectes  ovis).  The  tick  is  so 
well  known  as  to  need  little  detailed  description.  When  filled 
plump  with  blood,  its  body  is  almost  red  ;  when  depleted  it  is 
an  evil-looking,  grayish,  round-bodied  creature,  about  one- 
quarter  of  an  inch  long,  and  the  body  one-half  that  in  width, 
covered  with  a  very  tough  skin,  which  cracks  audibly  when 
squeezed  to  bursting.  It  is  propagated  by  a  "  nit "  {puparium), 
which  is  nearly  round,  brownish-red,  and  about  as  large  as  a 
radish  seed.  By  means  of  a  proboscis,  as  long  as  its  head,  it 
pierces  the  skin  of  the  lamb  and  sucks  the  blood  greedily,  giv- 
ing rise  to  the  saying,  "  as  full  as  a  tick."  When  the  number 
of  them  is  large  they  make  very  serious  inroads  upon  the  vital- 
ity of  the  lamb,  and  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  they  seem  to  thrive 
best  on  the  blood  of  the  lamb  that  is  poorest. 

Ticks  seldom  work  the  lambs  any  injury  through  the  sum- 
mer, or,  at  least,  the  abundant  feed  of  that  season  enables  lambs 
to  resist  their  assaults,  and  keep  in  good  condition  ;  but  as  soon 
as  they  are  confined  to  dry  feed,  and  experience,  as  is  generally 
the  case,  a  slight  falling-off,  the  ticks,  in  accordance  with  the 
almost  universal  law  of  parasitism,  are  stimulated  into  vigor, 
and  begin  to  multiply  rapidly.  They  do  not  cause  so  much 
restlessness  as  does  tlie  scab  insect ;  probably  their  bite  is  not 
poisonous.  But  for  this  very  reason,  perhaps,  they  are  even  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  the  irritating  scab,  acari,  for  the  latter  make 
the  sheep  demonstrative  and  it  attracts  attention  to  itself,  while 
the  abominable  ticks,  like  leeches,  pursue  their  silent,  insidious 
work  of  sapping  the  sheep's  life-current,  without  attracting  the 


FOR   WOOL   AXD    MUTTON".  313 

notice  of  the  master  until  he  is  struck  by  the  pallor,  the  debility, 
of  the  hapless  creatures  which  ai'e  being  literally  eaten  alive. 
The  first  thing  the  careless  shepherd  knows  the  lambs  are  so 
feeble  they  are  not  able  to  jump  over  the  sill  in  the  stable,  and 
then,  on  catching  them  and  i)arting  their  fleeces,  he  finds  the 
inner  ends  of  the  fibers  grown  weak  and  spindling  from  defi- 
cient nutrition,  and  the  whole  interior  defiled  with  the  little 
black  excrements  of  these  disgusting  vermin. 

Means  of  Eradication. — From  this  account  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  is  very  important  to  destroy  the  ticks  before  wmter  be- 
gins. The  best  time  for  this  is  soon  after  shearing  ;  in  a  week 
or  ten  days  the  ticks  on  the  older  animals,  which  the  shearing 
has  enabled  them  to  reach,  will  be  so  harried  that  they  will 
either  escape  to  the  ground  or  take  refuge  on  the  lambs.  And 
if  these  are  now  thoroughly  dipped — though  it  is  always  best  to 
repeat  the  operation  in  about  ten  days,  to  destroy  any  ticks 
which  may  remain  or  hatch  out.  for  even  the  strongest  infusion 
of  tobacco  will  not  kill  them  all — the}'  should  not  have  any  fur- 
ther trouble  from  this  source  if  properly  cared  for  thereafter. 

There  are  numerous  remedies  proposed  for  ticks,  of  which  the 
favorite  with  the  majority  of  shepherds  has  long  been  tobacco 
water. 

When  the  weather  is  too  cold  for  dipping,  resort  may  be  had 
to  snuff  or  tobacco  dust,  which  is  cheaper  ;  in  fact,  large  deal- 
ers in  tobacco  always  accumulate  quantities  of  a  gritty  dust 
which  is  of  no  value  to  them,  and  which  they  will  sell  cheaply 
or  give  away.  Ten  pounds  will  suffice  for  one  hundred  sheep. 
Let  an  attendant  lay  a  lamb  on  one  side,  on  a  box  about  two 
feet  high,  and  hold  it  while  the  operator  parts  the  fleece  with 
his  hands  and  sprinkles  in  the  dust  in  four  rows  the  entire 
length  of  the  animal.  Let  one  row  be  a  few  inches  from  the 
backbone,  and  the  other  about  midway  of  the  side  ;  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  sheep,  two  more  in  the  same  way.  Let  the 
dust  be  well  worked  down  to  reach  the  skin. 

If  tobacco  water  is  preferred,  refuse  tobacco,  or  tobacco  stems, 
may  be  bought  cheap  and  will  answer  all  pui'poses  ;  four  pounds 
of  stems  will  make  twenty  gallons  of  dip.  This  amount  of  dip 
will  suffice  for  fifteen  lambs. 

I  have  tried  the  arsenical  dips  and  have  been  entirely  satisfied 
with  them.  Dissolve  three  pounds  of  white  arsenic  in  six  or 
eight  gallons  of  boiling  water,  and  dilute  with  enough  cold 
water  to  make  about  twenty-five  gallons.  Test  the  strength  of 
it  by  immersing  a  few  ticks  in  it ;  if  strong  enough,  it  will  soon 


314  THE   AMEKICAif   MEKINO 

stiffen  them.  Two  wash-tubs,  or  large  iron  kettles,  will  answer 
for  a  small  flock  ;  one  to  dip  in,  the  other  for  the  lamb  to  stand 
in  while  dripping.  A  suitable  vat  can  be  made  by  anyone  vv'ith 
a  modicum  of  ingenuity,  the  only  point  of  importance  being  to 
provide  a  separate  compartment  or  apron  with  a  tight  floor,  in- 
clined toward  the  vat,  to  carry  the  liquor  running  from  the 
lamb's  fleece  back  into  the  vat.  This  floor  may  be  made  of 
sheet-iron,  painted  with  Venetian  red  ;  it  may  slope  all  one  way, 
or  be  two-sided,  sloping  to  the  middle.  Tw^o  men  seize  the 
lamb — one  the  forefeet,  the  other  the  hind  feet — and  lower  it 
slowly  into  the  dip,  back  downward,  holding  it  in  about  a  min- 
ute, until  the  wool  is  well  saturated.  It  matters  not  if  a  little 
liquid  enters  the  ears,  but  the  lamb  should  be  so  handled  as  not 
to  allow  any  to  splash  into  the  eyes  ;  yet  every  lock  of  the  fleece 
should  be  submerged.  The  operators  must  have  whole  hands, 
free  from  scratches  ;  with  this  safeguard  there  is  no  danger  in 
the  arsenic  water,  if  it  is  thrown  into  the  fence  corner  after  be- 
ing used. 

Prevention. — A  judicious  and  timely  use  of  that  universal 
insecticide,  sulphur,  in  the  feed  will  save  all  this  trouble.  1 
have  never  had  ticks  on  my  lambs  since  I  have  employed  the 
following  preventive  :  If  the  lambs  are  ' '  ticky "  in  the  fall, 
mix  sulphur  in  the  salt,  at  the  rate  of  three  pounds  of  sulphur 
to  five  of  salt,  and  give  the  lambs  constant  access  to  it,  keeping 
them  housed  from  the  rains.  It  does  not  kill  the  ticks  outright, 
but  poisons  and  renders  them  nearly  harmless,  and  if  continued 
in  the  salt  until  shearing-time,  the  sulphur  wiU  drive  them  off 
without  the  dipping. 

The  Loijse. — The  red  sheep-louse  is  seldom  found  on  the  yolky 
Merino,  preferring  the  dry-wooled  breeds.  Its  head  is  red,  the 
body  pale  yellow,  marked  with  dark  bands.  It  is  found  on  the 
side  of  the  sheep's  neck  and  on  the  inside  of  the  thighs  and 
arms  where  the  skin  is  bare.  It  requires  the  same  treatment 
as  the  tick. 

Maggots.— These  have  been  touched  upon  elsewhere,  in  so 
far  as  preventive  measures  are  concerned.  They  are  the  larvae 
of  the  blue-bottle  or  blow-fly  {Musca  vomitoria)  and  the  flesh- 
fly  {Sarcophaga  carnaria).  The  Merino,  on  account  of  its  pecu- 
liar qualities,  the  yolkiness  and  density  of  its  fleece,  which 
generate  filth,  and  its  wrinkles,  which  retain  it,  together  with 
rain-water,  urine,  etc.,  creating  sourness  and  stench  between 
and  under  the  folds,  is  more  liable  to  the  assaults  of  those  flies 


FOR   WOOL   A^D   MUTTO>^.  315 

and  their  prog^^ny  than  the  open-wooled  breeds.  Very  wrinkly- 
sheep  are  objectionable  for  this  reason,  among  others  ;  they 
require  vigilant  watching  during  the  summer,  especially  if  the 
weather  is  damp  and  muggy.  But,  wet  or  dry,  very  hot  weather 
is  propitious  to  the  maggots  with  ewes,  rams  or  ewe-lambs, 
which  are  more  filthy  than  wethers.  They  ought  to  be  caught 
and  examined  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  the  folds  about  the 
vent  drawn  tight  or  doubled  across  the  left  hand,  while  the 
right,  with  a  pair  of  shears,  clips  the  wool  with  the  greatest  pos- 
sible closeness  to  the  skin  beween  the  wrinkles.  Then  soft  pine 
tar  should  be  smeared  very  lightly  over  the  surface  wherever 
urine  or  excrement  is  likely  to  lodge.  Though  the  daintiest  of 
all  our  animals  in  its  selection  of  feed,  the  sheep  is  the  filthiest 
in  its  habits  ;  its  great  fleece  seems  to  render  it  indolent  when 
once  it  has  lain  clown,  and  its  gormandizing  propensities  make 
it  foul  and  stinking. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  shepherd's  work  more  odious  than  the 
fight  with  maggots  ;  not  one  jot  or  tittle  can  he  relax  of  his 
vigilance  from  the  time  warm  weather  sets  in,  until  they  are  re- 
heved  of  their  fleeces.  Maggots  will  sometimes  make  their 
appearance  on  the  wethers,  on  the  shoulders,  almost  anywhere 
on  the  fleece  where  a  particle  of  filth  has  obtained  lodgment  in 
a  wrinkle.  If  once  they  reach  the  skin,  they  begin  to  fret  it 
away,  a  serous  effusion  begins,  the  wool  adjacent  soon  becomes 
saturated  and  foul-smelling,  and  after  that,  even  if  the  maggots 
are  completely  eradicated,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  save  the 
sheep,  as  it  is  continually  "fly-blown"  afresh.  There  is  no 
hope  for  it  only  in  keeping  it  by  day  in  a  perfectly  dark  place, 
or  enveloping  it  in  a  gunny-cloth  blanket  saturated  with  kero- 
sene, benzine,  or  turpentine. 

To  remove  or  kill  maggots  there  is  probably  no  substance 
better  than  ofl  of  sassafras  mixed  witli  alcohol — one  part  of  the 
oil  to  four  or  five  of  alcohol.  Turpentine  is  too  severe  on  the 
sheep,  applied  to  the  raw,  lacerated  surfaces,  already  fevered 
by  the  worms. 

The  "  Screw-Worm."— In  a  letter  to  myself,  Dr.  D.  E.  Salmon, 
Washington,  D.  C,  says  of  this  :  "  The  fly  of  the  screw- worm 
deposits  eggs,  but  these  hatch  in  a  very  short  time — in  fact,  al- 
most as  soon  as  they  are  deposited  ;  and  it  is  thought  by  natu- 
ralists that  they  may  at  times  be  hatched  at  the  instant  they  are 
deposited  ;  but  the  fly  is  really  classed  as  oviparous."  It  is  the 
belief  of  Texan  shepherds  that  the  screw-worm  is  deposited 
alive,  but  it  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  this  view  is  not 


316  THE   AMERICAN   MERIiq-Q 

quite  correct.  At  any  rate  it  has  the  advantage  of  the  common 
maggot,  for  the  eggs  which  develop  the  lattei",  frequently  dry 
up  and  do  not  hatch  ;  but  the  screw-worm  seldom  fails  to  reach 
the  sore  or  wound  near  which  it  is  deposited.  It  is  a  great  pest 
in  hot  summers,  and  is  very  persistent,  sometimes  being  seen  as 
late  as  December. 

For  the  screw- worm,  as  for  the  common  maggot,  there  is  no 
better  application  than  the  oil  of  sassafras,  diluted  as  above  de- 
scribed. 

Snake-Bites. — In  Texas,  California,  and  the  Territories,  a  very 
considerable  number  of  sheep  are  lost  from  the  bites  of  poison- 
ous snakes,  especially  the  rattlesnake.  It  is  related  that  a 
shepherd  in  Atascosa  County,  Texas,  carried  a  long  cane  on 
which  he  cut  a  notch  for  every  rattlesnake  he  killed  ;  and  that 
from  January  1st  to  the  end  of  the  warm  season  he  killed 
thirty-three.  This  is  much  better  work  than  the  poulticing  or 
fomenting  of  a  swollen  leg.  If  the  sheep  recovers,  the  leg  is 
likely  to  be  permanently  enlarged  from  the  thickening  of  the 
areolar  tissue.  If  taken  in  season,  cupping  will  save  the  animal. 
The  most  effective  treatment,  however,  is  the  prompt  cutting 
out  of  the  virus  in  a  piece  of  flesh  as  large  as  a  dime  and  half 
an  inch  thick. 


CHAPTEE    XXX. 
DISEASES  OF  THE  FEET. 

Thus  far  I  have  endeavored  to  present  the  diseases  of  the 
Merino,  not  with  reference  to  the  importance  of  the  organs  in 
which  they  occur,  but  approximately  in  the  order  of  the  fre- 
quency with  which  they  attack  the  flocks. 

Next  after  the  parasitic  affections  which  trouble  the  ]\Ierino, 
owing  to  its  sweaty,  foul  pelage,  its  wrinkles,  its  gormandizing 
propensities,  and  its  liability  to  the  attacks  of  internal  enemies, 
come  diseases  of  the  feet— not  ranking  high  in  fatality,  but  in 
the  trouble  which  they  cause  the  shepherd.  The  sub-tropical 
climate  of  Spain  gave  it  its  sweaty,  greasy  habit ;  and  it  was 
also  the  annual  migration  of  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand 
miles  from  Andalusia  to  the  north  and  return,  kept  up  for  one 
thousand,  perhaps  two  thousand,  years,  which  undoubtedly 


FOE   WOOL   A:N'D   MUTTON".  317 

caused  the  hoofs  of  this  breed  of  sheep  to  be  so  abnormally  de- 
•  veloped  as  to  be  the  source  of  a  large  share  of  its  misfortunes. 
Mr.  Stewart  states,  in  "The  Shepherd's  Manual,"  that  the 
sheep's  hoofs  do  not  grow  from  the  coronet  downwards,  like  a 
horse's  hoofs,  but  from  the  whole  inner  secreting  surface.  The 
sheep's  hoofs  grow  in  length  by  a  continual  prolongation  of  the 
outer  extremities,  just  like  a  horse's  hoofs  or  the  human  nails  ; 
bui;  if  by  any  accident  a  hoof  is  destroyed,  a  new  one  springs  up 
nndemeath,  as  Mr.  Stewart  correctly  says,  from  the  whole  sur- 
face at  once.  The  hoof  proper  is  soft  and  thin,  probably  softer 
than  that  of  the  other  domesticated  ungulate  animals  ;  but,  in 
certain  cases,  when  there  is  an  excessive  development,  it  is  very 
hard  ;  as  much  harder  than  the  horse's  hoof  as  in  its  normal 
condition  it  is  softer. 

Mr.  Stewart  disposes  of  this  subject  rather  too  summarily  ;  it 
is  evident  that  his  experience  has  been  mostly  with  the  Enghsh 
breeds,  which  ai*e  not  so  subject  to  the  foot-rot  as  the  Merino. 

Origin  of  Foot-Rot.  —  It  is  a  prevalent  Western  opinion 
that  the  harmless  fouls  or  scald-foot  (sometimes  called  "  ground- 
itch")  will  eventually  terminate  in  the  malignant,  contagious 
foot-rot.  if  allowed  to  run  its  course.  Some  shepherds  express 
themselves  metaphorically,  saying  that  the  scald-foot  is  the 
'"blossom"  of  foot-rot.  There  is  probably  a  grain  of  tmth  in 
this  belief ;  that  is,  there  seems  to  be  Utile  doubt  that  fouls 
generally  precedes  foot-rot,  if  not  always,  and  forms  a  predis- 
posing condition  thereto.  I  believe  it  is  pretty  generally  con- 
ceded, by  most  students  of  animal  pathology,  that  foot-rot  is 
produced  by  a  species  of  parasite.  Now,  why  may  it  not  be  that 
the  fetor  of  the  scald  is  the  soiu'ce  of  attraction  to  this  parasite  ; 
and  that  the  maceration,  the  soft  parboiled  condition  of  the 
cleft  between  the  hoofs  affords  it  a  congenial  refuge?  I  might 
assert,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  the  foot-rot 
never  springs  up  absolutely  de  novo,  from  healthy  tissues  ;  that 
it  never  shows  itself  where  scald  has  not  been  present  before  it. 
And  I  say  that  no  one  could  hope  to  gainsay  this,  because  no 
one  can  tell  for  the  first  few  days  whether  rot  or  scald  is  pres- 
ent. And  does  not  the  hypothesis  above  broached  serve  to  ex- 
plain the  latter  fact  ?  On  some  soils  the  scald  will  never,  after 
any  lapse  of  time,  resolve  itself  into  the  rot,  while  in  others  it 
will ;  which  is  to  say — if  the  above  theory  is  correct— on  these 
rot-proof  soils  there  does  not  happen  to  be  the  parasite  present 
to  fasten  upon  the  milder  malady  and  convert  it  into  the  greater, 
while  in  the  others  there  is.     We  are  painfully  aware  that  the 


318  THE   AMERICAA^  MERIXO 

pest  of  the  human  family  known  as  the  itch  is  fostered  by  filth 
and  sores.  AVhy  may  not  this  be  the  case  with  the  ovine  afflic- 
tion under  consideration  ? 

There  are  certain  animals  which  are  so  Uable  to  the  scald-foot 
that  they  have  to  be  subjected  to  the  shepherd's  knife  every 
month  or  so,  else  they  will  begin  to  go  about  gingerly.  These 
ought  to  be  weeded  out  of  the  flock,  fattened  and  sold ;  they 
are  a  nuisance  and  an  eye-sore. 

What  Foot-Rot  Is. — There  is  so  much  misinformation  on 
this  subject  that  it  is  essential  to  define  with  accuracy  and  de- 
tail the  symptoms  of  this  disease.  The  farmer  is  often  imposed 
upon  by  an  unscrupulous  dealer,  with  whom  foot-rot  is  a  sort  of 
"  trade  capital,"  as  scab  is  to  the  buyer  of  Territorial  sheep,  or 
alkali  to  the  dealer  in  Temtorial  wools.  I  have  known  a  sim- 
ple-hearted old  farmer  submit  to  a  dockage  of  twenty-seven 
cents  a  head  on  a  fiock  of  well-fattened  Merino  wethers,  on  ac- 
count of  alleged  foot-rot,  when  there  was  no  disease  present 
whatever  except  the  simple  scald  ! 

Perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  state  briefly  first,  what  foot-rot  is 
not.  It  is  not  a  disease  of  the  interdigital  canal.  This  is  a  duct 
which  has  its  mouth  about  a  finger's  breadth  above  the  cleft  of 
the  hoof,  in  front,  and  extends  down  and  back  toward  the  heel 
to  a  small  sack  which  is  doubled  back,  giving  rise  to  the  name 
employed  by  Youatt — "  biflex  canal."  This  duct  secretes  a  whit- 
ish, viscid  unguent  for  the  lubrication  of  the  inside  surfaces  of 
the  segments  of  the  hoof.  When  sheep  run  in  a  very  damp 
pasture,  this  unguent,  owing  to  the  sluggishness  with  which 
the  blood  circulates,  becomes  thickened,  and  upon  pressure  of 
the  foot  being  made  it  exudes  in  a  ductile,  vermicular  string, 
which  ignorant  men  pronounce  "the  seed  of  the  foot-rot,"  or 
even  ' '  the  rot  itself  ! " 

Neither  does  foot-rot  in  the  Merino  consist  in  "blisters  "or 
boils  between  the  segments  of  the  hoof  or  about  the  heel.  Boils 
sometimes  occur  on  sheep's  feet,  it  is  true,  and  cause  much  sore- 
ness, fever  and  lameness ;  but  if,  when  ripe,  they  are  lanced 
and  the  pus  thoroughly  pressed  out,  they  will  give  no  further 
trouble,  unless  they  are  attacked  by  maggots. 

Dr.  Randall  gives  a  very  minute  and.  in  the  main  correct,  de- 
scription of  the  true  malady,  which  I  will  condense  :  "  Foot-rot 
begins  in  the  bridge  or  junction  of  the  cleft,  and  its  primary 
stage  consists  in  a  transformation  of  the  skin  from  its  normal 
smoothness,  dryness  and  pink  color  to  a  whitish,  parboiled  and 
somewhat  wrinkly  condition,  accompanied  by  the  fetor  com- 


FOR  WOOL  AXD  mutto:n'.  319 

mon  to  this  malady  and  the  scald-foot.  A  thin,  serous  effusion 
sets  in,  which,  as  the  disease  advances  in  malignancy,  assumes 
something  more  of  a  muco-purulent  character.  This  cori-osion 
of  the  tissue,  accompanied  with  fever,  proceeds  downward  un- 
til it  reaches  the  line  of  junction  of  the  skin  and  the  horny  walls 
of  the  inside  of  the  hoofs,  when  it  dives  under  the  latter  and 
attacks  the  body  of  the  foot.  Soon  it  completely  invests  the 
foot  within  the  covering  of  the  hoof,  which  it  causes  to  cleave 
from  the  foot  and  hang  only  by  the  skin  at  the  coronet,  so  that 
it  can  easily  be  wrenched  off  by  the  hand.  The  foot  becomes  a 
mass  of  hideous  ulceration  and  is  totally  consumed,  if,  indeed, 
the  sheep  has  not  already  perished  miserably  from  the  migration 
of  the  virus  from  the  hoof  to  the  side  and  its  consequent  inva- 
sion of  the  entire  body,  with  its  army  of  destroying  maggots." 
The  most  important  error  in  Randall's  unabridged  account  is 
the  statement  that  ' '  The  offensive  odor  of  the  ulcerated  feet, 
almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  disease,  is  so  peculiar  that  it 
is  strictly  pathognomonic."  Tlie  most  experienced  shepherd 
cannot,  by  the  odor,  detect  any  difference  whatever  between 
foot-rot  and  the  common  scald  for  the  first  week  or  ten  days. 

Treatment. — There  is  a  large  number  of  prescriptions  for 
this  malady,  for  it  is  so  universally  diffused  east  of  the  one  hun- 
dredth meridian,  that  the  ingenuity  of  many  thousands  of  men 
has  been  brought  to  bear  in  combating  it.  Blue  vitriol  (sulphate 
of  copper)  is  so  easily  obtainable,  so  cheap,  and  so  efficacious, 
if  rightly  applied,  that  I  do  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  describe 
any  other  remedy.  If  any  fiock-master  has  ever  applied  blue 
vitriol,  and  afterward  resorted  to  something  else,  that  fact  is 
strong  presumptive  evidence  that  he  either  did  not  sufficiently 
prepare  the  feet  beforehand,  or  did  not  apply  it  with  thor- 
oughness. 

First,  if  the  disease  has  made  such  progress  as  to  have  passed 
under  the  horny  shell  of  the  hoof,  it  will  be  necessary  to  hunt 
it  out  thoroughly.  The  ulcerative  matter  may  be  so  accumu- 
lated and  hardened  in  the  track  of  the  malady  as  to  prevent 
any  remedy  from  reaching  the  real  seat  of  the  disease,  where  it 
is  feeding  on  the  fresh,  healthy  tissues  under  cover  of  the  hoof. 
Hence,  the  knife  must  be  employed  to  lay  bare  the  virus  where 
it  is  at  work.  All  scraps  and  shells  of  horn,  rendered  useless  by 
having  been  separated  from  the  membranes  which  secrete  them, 
should  be  cut  away  ;  also  all  remnants  of  the  fleshy  sole  which 
the  disease  has  killed.  The  only  safe  guide  for  the  shepherd  is 
to  keep  cutting  off  thin  slices  until  there  are  very  plain  indica- 


320  THE    AMERICA:^"   MERI>5"0 

tions  that  the  next  stroke  would  draw  blood  ;  in  other  words, 
that  healthy  tissues  are  near  at  hand.  If  a  little  blood  is  drawn 
it  should  be  stopped  at  once  by  an  application  of  butter  (chloride) 
of  antimony  ;  a  flow  of  blood  washes  away  the  vitriol. 

Second,  the  vitriol  ought  to  be  apphed  in  such  form  that  it 
will  penetrate  most  readily  to  the  seat  of  the  contagion.  Hence, 
it  ought  to  be  dissolved  in  water — a  saturated  solution,  all  it 
will  dissolve — rather  than  in  such  viscid,  gummy  substances  as 
red  or  white  lead,  tar,  etc.  Hence,  too,  the  water  when  apphed 
should  be  hot — as  near  the  scalding-point  as  ix>ssible  without 
taking  off  the  hair  or  wool— say  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  A  kettle  ought  to  be  kept  boiling  near  by, 
from  which  hot  liquor  can  be  dipped  into  the  bath  when  needed 
to  raise  the  temperature. 

For  a  foot-bath  let  a  box  be  made  six  feet  long,  two  feet  wide, 
one  foot  deep,  water-tight.  Let  it  be  placed  about  a  foot  from 
the  wall,  with  a  framework  or  fence  at  each  end  and  one  across 
it  at  intervals  of  fifteen  inches.  This  will  afford  each  sheej)  a 
standing-place  two  feet  long  and  fifteen  inches  wide.  Let  a  slat 
be  nailed  on  lop  of  the  box,  lengthways ;  this  will  pass  under 
the  flanks  of  each  sheep,  forward  of  its  hind  legs,  as  it  stands  in 
its  place,  and  will  prevent  it  from  getting  its  hind-quarters 
down  into  the  vitriol-water,  which  would  stain  the  wool.  The 
opposite  side  of  the  box  will  sustain  the  breast  of  each  sheep 
and  keep  its  fore-quarters  out  of  the  water.  It  requires  one 
man  to  attend  the  sheep  in  the  box  and  keep  the  solution  hot. 
Some  vitriol  ought  to  be  added  occasionaUy  to  keep  up  the 
strength.  Two  men  will  be  required  to  clean  the  sheep's  feet 
with  wet  rags  and  pare  away  the  diseased  and  dead  matter. 

This  brings  us  to  another  point  of  the  highest  importance, 
which  is,  to  make  the  vitriol  solution  stay  where  it  is  applied 
until  it  does  its  work.  Hence,  the  hoofs  should  be  as  clean  as 
possible  from  dung  and  dirt  before  the  application  is  made,  and 
be  kept  out  of  w^ater  for  a  day  or  two  afterward.  The  knife 
must  be  applied  thoroughly — yet  not  so  as  to  cause  a  trouble- 
some effusion  of  blood — to  lay  bare  the  disease  m  all  its  hiding- 
places,  cutting  away  the  hoof  and  the  gristly  integuments 
wherever  any  vu'us  may  possibly  lurk  beneath.  To  this  end 
any  measure  which  will  fetch  the  sheep's  feet  much  in  the 
water  for  a  day  or  two  previous  to  the  operation  not  only 
cleanses  them,  but  softens  the  hoot,  which  is  an  important  mat- 
ter, since  after  some  hours  soaking,  the  pocket-knife  will  readily 
pare  away  a  hoof  which  when  indurated  by  several  days  of  dry 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTOiq".  321 

■weather  will  yield  only  to  the  chisel  and  mallet.  As  the  opera- 
tion generally  has  to  be  performed  in  summer,  it  is  well  to  keep 
the  flock  on  dry  feed  a  day  or  two  beforehand,  so  that  the  dung 
underfoot  may  not  be  so  diffusive  when  the  time  comes  for 
operating.  If  they  can  be  kept  standing  on  wet  straw  their 
hoofs  will  be  soaking  in  the  meantime.  Then,  if  driven  through 
high  wet  grass,  the  feet  will  be  partly  washed,  and  the  cleansing 
can  be  completed  with  a  swab  in  a  tub  of  water.  After  the 
paring  has  been  done,  let  the  sheep  stand  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  in  a  shallow  vitriol  foot-bath,  say  two  inches  in  depth, 
strong  and  hot,  as  above  described,  and  kept  hot  by  the  occa- 
sional removal  of  some  of  the  liquid  and  the  replacing  of  it  with 
some  freshly  heated.  After  leaving  the  bath  the  sheep  should 
be  confined  on  a  dry,  hard  floor  for  one  or  two  days,  where,  if 
they  have  been  previously  kept  on  dry  feed  for  a  short  space, 
the  manure  on  the  floor  will  not  seriously  abate  the  effects  of 
the  vitriol  on  the  feet.  It  may  be  necessary  to  repeat  the  opera- 
tion in  two  weeks.  It  is  a  great  preventive  and  mollifier  of 
foot-rot,  to  drive  the  sheep  often  over  plowed  ground  or  a  dusty 
road ;  this  serves  as  a  disinfectant.  Forty-eight  hours  after 
the  sheep  leave  the  foot-bath  they  may  go  into  the  dust  with 
advantage. 

For  Small  Flocks. — Where  there  are  only  a  few  sheep  the 
vitriol  may  be  dissolved  by  another  formula  and  applied  with  a 
horse-hair  brush,  which  the  farmer  can  make  for  himself.  This 
formula  is  as  follows  :  One  ounce  of  verdigris,  two  ounces  of 
sulphate  of  potash,  three  ounces  of  blue  vitriol,  four  ounces  of 
nitric  acid,  four  ounces  of  rain  water.  Mix  in  a  glass  bottle 
with  a  glass  stopper.  The  horse  hair  for  the  brush  should  be 
tied  on  the  handle  with  a  woolen  thread. 

Scald-Foot  (or  Fouls).  —This  is  a  slight  galling  or  macera- 
tion in  the  cleft  of  the  foot,  generally  produced  by  wet  grass  or 
dung.  It  is  liable  to  trouble  the  Merino  at  all  ages  and  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  In  a  wet  spring,  even  sucking  lambs  will  go 
around  with  the  greatest  apparent  distress  (it  usually  attacks 
the  fore-feet  first  and  most  severely),  stiff-legged,  as  if  they 
were  rheumatic,  and  spending  nearly  all  their  time  lying  down, 
rising  only  to  suck  and  to  follow  painfully  after  the  ewes.  It 
will  generally  cure  itself  after  a  week  or  two,  but  if  it  lingers 
longer  than  this  it  ought  to  receive  attention,  especially  if  the 
sheep  are  fattening,  as  it  undoubtedly  pulls  them  down  some- 
what, and  prevents  them  from  feeding  full.     It  is  often  caused 


322  THE   AMERICAN"   MEIII]S^0 

by  malformation  of  the  hoofs — "bug-homed  ;"  that  is,  touch- 
ing only  at  the  extreme  points  ;  turned  under  at  the  edges ; 
thick  and  "  clumped,"  etc. — which  produces  chafing,  and  needs 
only  the  knife  to  pare  away  or  shorten  the  hoofs.  A  little  finely 
powdered  blue  vitriol  sprinkled  in  the  cleft,  well  down  into  the 
bottom  of  it,  is  generally  the  only  application  needed. 

As  stated  under  the  preceding  head,  this  does  not  differ  from 
foot-rot  in  its  early  stages,  so  far  as  the  unassisted  senses  of  the 
shepherd  can  discover.  I  never  could  detect  the  slightest  dif- 
ference for  the  first  ten  days  at  least.  But  on  some  soils,  notably 
clay  soils,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  scald  will  event- 
ually terminate  in  the  foot-rot ;  while  on  others — as  loamy,  allu- 
vial and  limestone  soils — I  know,  from  many  years'  experience, 
that  scald-foot  will  never,  under  the  greatest  neglect,  become  or 
lead  to  anything  else.  Foot-rot  is  contagious,  and  will  soon 
run  through  the  whole  flock  ;  but  the  simple  scald  will  linger 
for  months  on  such  soils,  confined  to  a  single  member  of  the 
flock,  even  though  it  may  become  so  bad  as  to  cause  the  miser- 
able animal  to  graze  on  its  knees.  Sometimes  maggots  make 
their  appearance  on  the  scald-foot,  and,  if  neglected,  they  will 
ultimately  reduce  the  foot  to  a  complete  ruin  (except  that  the 
hoofs  do  not  come  loose,  as  with  foot-rot) ;  and  still  there  is  no 
genuine  rot,  and  never  would  be.  But  the  popular  ignorance 
and  dread  of  the  greater  malady  are  so  wide-spread  that  every 
lameness  is  at  once  pronounced  "foot-rot;"  and  for  appear- 
ance's sake,  if  not  on  the  score  of  humanity,  the  scald-foot 
ought  to  be  treated  promptly,  especially  in  little  lambs  and  in 
fattening  sheep. 

Inflammation  of  the  Interdigital  Canal. — Mr.  Stewart 
mentions  that  this  is  sometimes  caused  by  sheep  traveling  on 
very  sandy  or  dusty  roads,  as  a  result  of  which,  dirt  enters  the 
canal  and  produces  inflammation  of  the  whole  foot.  I  have 
seen  it  caused  by  sheep  running  in  very  wet,  soft  clay  pastures  J 
the  feet  were  kept  so  constantly  chilled  that  the  circulation  was 
retarded  and  the  unguent  secreted  in  the  canal  was  not  expelled. 
This  retention  brought  on  irritation.  Probing  with  a  small  wire 
or  the  trimmed  pomt  of  a  feather,  to  remove  the  offending  sub- 
stance (if  any  is  present) ;  or  fomentation  of  the  foot  with  hot 
water  and  vinegar  (if  the  trouble  is  a  result  of  wet  pastures)  are 
all  that  is  needed.  The  general  treatment  and  the  means  of 
prevention  are  obvious. 

"Canker  of  the  Foot." — This,  Mr.  Stewart  describes  as  *  a 
very  obstinate  disease,"  but  I  have  never  seen  a  case  of  it.     He 


FOB  WOOL  A:5rD  MUTTOK.  323 

says :  "It  consists  of  inflammation  of  the  sole  of  the  foot, 
which  gives  way  to  a  growth  of  spongy  sprouts  instead  of  the 
natural  hoof,  and  a  discharge  of  white  cui'dy  matter,  which  has 
a  most  offensive  odor."  It  causes  separation  between  the  hoof 
and  the  fleshy  or  cartilaginous  sole  of  the  foot.  From  this  and 
other  statements  made  by  Mr.  Stewart,  I  am  very  strongly  of 
the  opinion  that  he  has  in  mind  a  case  of  what  in  Ohio  would 
be  called  the  genuine  foot-rot  and  treated  accordingly.  He  rec- 
ommends thorough  cleansing,  bathing  in  a  solution  of  one  dram 
of  chloride  of  zinc  in  a  pint  of  water,  and  a  pledget  of  tow  or 
hnt  dipped  in  a  mixture  of  one  part  of  common  (not  fuming) 
nitric  acid  with  three  parts  of  water  and  applied  to  the  whole 
of  the  cankered  surface.     Repeat  until  cured. 

Foot- AND- Mouth  Disease. — This  is  rare  in  American  flocks ; 
it  is  very  contagious,  and  may  be  communicated  by  cattle,  hogs 
or  sheep.  Mr.  Stewart  thus  describes  it :  "  Tlie  first  symptoms 
are  a  fit  of  shivering,  succeeded  by  fever,  cough,  and  an  in- 
creased pulse.  This  is  succeeded  by  a  faihng  of  the  appetite, 
tenderness  over  the  loins,  flow  of  saliva  from  the  mouth,  and 
grinding  of  the  jaws.  Blisters,  small  and  large,  appear  on  the 
mouth  and  tongue,  which  break  and  become  raw,  causing  great 
pain.  The  feet  are  swollen  and  also  covered  with  blisters, 
which  break  and  become  sore,  causing  the  animal  to  walk  with 
difficulty  and  shake  its  feet  or  kick  and  lie  down  persistently." 
There  is  a  simple  form  of  it,  which  usually  terminates  favorably 
in  ten  or  fifteen  days,  under  a  dose  of  two  ounces  of  Epsom 
salts  and  a  little  ginger,  once  administered,  a  second  dose  being 
dangerous.  The  mouth  should  be  washed  with  alum  water  (one 
ounce  of  alum  in  one  quart  of  water),  and  the  feet  with  soap- 
suds or  a  weak  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper,  then  dressed  with 
carbolic  ointment  and  bound  up  in  a  cloth.  If  the  malignant 
form  is  present,  it  is  best  to  kill  and  bury  the  diseased  animals 
and  fumigate  the  quarters  with  sulphur  fumes,  removing  the 
healthy  sheep  for  a  time. 


324:  THE   AMERICAN   MEEIKO. 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 
DISEASES  OF  THE  RESPIRATORY  SYSTEM. 

Catarrh. — This  is  known  to  most  farmers  a3  *'  snotty  nose," 
and  is  called  by  some  veterinarians  "coryza."  It  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  prevalent  affe.ction  of  the  Merino  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States — in  the  East,  caused  by  dampness  and  cold,  in 
the  West,  by  alkali  dust.  It  may  appear  paradoxical,  but  it  is 
true  that  the  very  covering  given  to  the  sheep  for  protection,  its 
fleece,  which  is  a  protection  in  a  state  of  nature,  becomes,  un- 
der the  capricious  management  of  man  and  the  artificial  condi- 
tions of  the  sheep's  life,  the  medium  of  its  most  common  disease. 
When  the  wild  Indians  had  no  clothing  to  speak  of,  they  had 
almost  no  consumption  or  catarrh  ;  but  when  they  donned  the 
dress  of  civilization — on  one  day,  off  the  next — they  began  to 
die  of  the  galloping  consumption.  If  sheep  had  no  fleeces  at  aU 
they  would  be  less  liable  to  catarrh  ;  as  it  is,  they  are  more  liable 
to  it  than  the  other  domestic  animals  which  have  no  covering 
but  short  hair. 

Dampness  is  the  most  pernicious  enemy  the  sheep  has  ;  any 
degree  of  dry  cold  is  not  to  be  mentioned  in  comparison.  Next 
to  dampness,  perhaps,  is  a  warm  and  steamy  sheep-house ;  it 
makes  the  sheep  more  tender  and  susceptible  to  cold  when  it 
goes  out-doors.  The  best  possible  form  of  sheep-house  is  that 
which  allows  the  wind  freely  at  all  times  —unless  in  a  hurricane 
or  a  driving  rain — to  blow  through  it,  but  high  enough  to  be 
quite  above  the  sheep's  heads. 

The  fleece  is  a  protection  to  the  sheep  when  perfectly  quiet, 
but  let  it  become  overheated  from  any  cause,  either  by  running 
or  by  crowding  in  a  close  stable,  and  it  becomes  a  source  of 
damage.  A  man  can  adapt  the  amount  »of  his  clothing  to  the 
weather ;  the  sheep  wears  the  same  thick  and  heavy  garment 
whether  it  is  cold  or  warm.  If  this  garment  becomes  wet  to  the 
skin  it  cannot  change  it,  as  the  master  would  his  overcoat  ;  it 
clings  close  to  the  skin  until  it  dries  off.  It  is  a  cold,  wet 
blanket ;  it  is  worse  than  nothittg  ;  worse  than  the  shortest  coat 
of  hair  would  be,  as  a  steady  wear. 

The  Merino  ought  to  be  kept  always  dry  in  the  winter,  or 
else  not  housed  at  all.  Let  the  air  it  breathes  be  dry  and  pure  ; 
above  all,  let  the  bedding  and  footing  be  dry  j  then  there  will  be 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MrTTOX.  325 

little  trouble  from  the  catarrh.     It  is  the  greatest  folly  to  pro- 
tect ( ? )  sheep  too  much. 

Catarrh  is  an  inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  Uning 
the  nostrils,  throat,  wind-pipe  and  nasal  cavities.  The  inflamed 
condition  causes  an  excessive  secretion  of  mucus,  which  pro- 
duces irritation  and  cougrhing. 

Treatment. — In  the  first  place,  the  causes  must  be  removed  ; 
then  the  sheep  should  receive  some  warm  mucilaginous  drink, 
as  slippery-elm  or  linseed  tea,  or  a  warm  bran  mash,  with  a 
little  stimulant  added,  say  a  half-teaspoonf  ul  of  ginger  or  gen- 
tian. A  lump  of  pine  tar,  as  large  as  a  hazelnut,  smeared  on 
the  root  of  the  tongue  is  beneficial.  Keej)  the  nose  clean  by 
washing  with  warm  water  in  which  there  are  a  few  drops  of 
aqua  ammonia.  If  there  is  fever  and  the  disease  is  likely  to 
assume  the  more  violent  form  described  below,  there  may  be 
given  to  the  sheep  the  following  :  Epsom  or  Glauber  salts,  half 
an  ounce ;  saltpeter,  one  dram ;  ground  ginger,  one  dram  ;  mix 
with  molasses  and  place  on  the  root  of  the  tongue  with  a  pad- 
dle. Hold  the  sheep's  head  up  and  jaws  closed  until  the  dose  is 
swallowed. 

Cough. — If  the  catarrh  is  neglected,  or  additional  cold  is  con- 
tracted, the  cough  will  become  worse — so  bad  as  to  be  the  most 
marked  symptom  of  the  case,  showing  that  bronchitis  has  set 
in.  In  other  words,  the  inflLammation  is  going  down  toward 
the  lungs,  and  there  is  danger.  The  sheep's  appetite  begins  to 
fail,  there  is  perceptible  quickening  of  the  pulse,  denoting  fever. 

For  this  there  may  be  administered  :  Linseed  oil,  one  ounce  ; 
saltpeter,  one  dram  ;  powdered  gentian,  one  dram.  Give  in  the 
same  dose  as  above,  in  the  same  way,  gradually  reducing  the 
amount  of  saltpeter  one  half. 

OzcENA. — Sometimes  the  catarrh  assumes  the  form  of  a  chronic 
ulcer  in  the  nose,  discharging  constantly  a  whitish,  fetid  matter 
for  months,  without  cough  or  fever. 

Take  sulphate  of  iron,  four  ounces  ;  sulphur,  two  ounces  ; 
catechu,  one  ounce  ;  mix  in  four  pounds  of  oat-meal,  with  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  common  salt.  Give  a  heaping  teaspoonful, 
mixed  with  molasses,  to  each  sheej)  twice  a  day.  Keep  the 
sheep  in  the  stable  until  cured. 

Influenza, — Sometimes  sheep  have  a  persistent  running  at 
the  nose  and  eyes  for  a  long  time,  accompanied  generaUy  with 
a  cough.  Once  in  a  while,  there  is  a  case  where  the  watery  dis- 
charge from  the  eyes  seems  to  be  poisonous,  making  an  inflamed 


326  THE   AMERICAN   MERI:N^0 

streak  down  each  cheek.  There  is  a  copious  discharge  of  mu- 
cus, which  is  occasionally  stringy  and  colored  with  blood.  The 
deaths  which  occur  are  among  the  best-conditioned  members 
of  the  flock  rather  than  the  poorest. 

Where  these  conditions  obtain,  the  following  is  the  treatment: 
Take  thymo-cresol,  one  ounce  and  a  half  ;  mix  with  one  gallon 
of  soft  water  ;  give  each  sheep  a  wineglassful  twice  a  day,  and 
sprinkle  them  with  the  same.  Take  the  affected  sheep  into  a 
tight  room,  and  fumigate  them  by  heating  a  gallon  of  the  above 
mixture.  Or  the  following  may  be  given  :  Powdered  rhubarb, 
three  ounces  ;  chlorate  of  potash,  four  ounces  ;  nitrate  of  potash, 
three  ounces  ;  bicarbonate  of  soda,  six  ounces ;.  cream  of  tar- 
tar, four  ounces  ;  sulphur,  four  ounces  ;  mix  ;  give  a  teaspoonf ul 
two  or  three  times  a  day  in  enough  molasses  to  make  a  paste. 

Pneumonia  (Sporadic  Pleuro-Pneumonia),  —  Pleuro-pneu- 
monia  contagiosa,  is  essentially  a  bovine  disease  and  not  infec- 
tious to  other  animals.  It  can  be  communicated  to  sheep  only 
by  inoculation.  Sporadic  pleuro-pneumonia  may  occur  in  all 
the  domestic  animals  ;  but  the  veterinarian  who  asserts  that  the 
contagious  pleuro-pneumonia  ever  attacks  sheep  is  in  error. 

This  is  essentially  the  same  as  inflammation  of  the  lungs  in 
the  human  subject,  and  is  consequently  a  very  dangerous  dis- 
ease— usually  the  result  of  culpable  carelessness  on  the  part  of 
the  master  in  exposing  the  sheep  to  cold  storms,  especially  soon 
after  shearing.  It  may  be  induced  by  any  sudden  and  violent 
change  from  hot  to  cold,  even  when  the  sheep  are  still  protected 
by  their  fleeces.  The  symptoms  are,  a  very  high  pulse  and  hot, 
quick  breath,  with  the  nostrils  expanded,  thin  and  tense ;  a 
short,  hacking  cough  :  grinding  of  the  teeth  ;  great  restlessness. 
Generally  considerable  urine  is  voided. 

Ihe post-mortem  exammation  reveals  substantially  the  same 
pathological  condition  as  that  of  a  man  who  has  died  of  pneu- 
monia ;  the  lungs  in  the  stage  of  exudation  or  red  hepatization, 
being  like  the  liver  ;  the  windpipe  full  of  false  membranes,  the 
air  vesicles  almost  plugged  up  with  them  ;  the  lobules  of  the 
lungs  perfectly  consolidated  and  separated  from  each  other  by 
lighter  streaks  of  reddish-yellow  lymph,  occupying  the  inter- 
lobular areolar  tissue.  Lungs  almost  rotten,  and  so  heavy  that 
they  will  sink  in  water  ;  the  surface  of  them  specked  with  dark 
clots.  About  twenty-four  hours  before  death  (which  in  this 
disease  comes  speedily),  the  sheep  som.etimes  scour,  voiding  a 
greenish  substance. 


FOR   WOOL   AN"D   MUTTON".  3^11 

Treatment. — If  the  sheep  is  small  and  the  wool  short,  it  will 
be  greatly  relieved  by  poulticing  on  the  breast  over  the  heart 
with  Indian  meal  mush  as  hot  as  the  hand  can  bear,  renewed 
every  ten  minutes  for  an  hour.  The  poultice  should  be  a  foot 
square  and  an  inch  or  more  thick.  It  will  be  troublesome  to 
apply,  but  is  one  of  the  very  best  remedies,  and  sometimes  this 
is  the  only  thing  that  will  save  the  sheep.  Bleeding  from  the 
jugular  vein  may  also  be  employed.  Directly  after  the  bleed- 
ing, give  two  ounces  of  Epsom  salts,  in  warm  water,  from  a 
long-necked  bottle  or  a  horn.  Injections  of  warm  water  are 
also  beneficial.  As  soon  as  purging  has  taken  place  freely,  let 
the  following  be  given  ;  Arsenic,  five  grains  ;  powdered  muri- 
ate of  iron,  two  drams  ;  gentian,  one  dram  ;  in  oat-meal  or  lin- 
seed gruel.  Or  the  following  :  Powdered  digitalis,  one  scruple  ; 
nitrate  o"f  potash,  one  dram  ;  tartar  emetic,  one  scruple  ;  twice 
a  day  in  gruel. 

As  soon  as  the  sheep  is  out  of  danger  the  process  of  restoring 
the  waste  caused  by  the  loss  of  blood  and  the  fever  must  be  be- 
gun. A  pint  of  w^ell-cooked  gruel  (it  should  be  strained  if  not 
miade  free  from  lumps),  to  which  is  added  half  a  dram  of  pow- 
dered gentian  or  ginger,  may  be  given  four  or  five  times  a  day. 
As  with  all  diseases  of  the  lungs  and  throat,  cold  water  should 
be  freely  supplied,  and  the  mucus  collecting  in  the  nostrils 
should  be  sponged  away. 

Pleurisy. — This  is  an  inflammation  of  the  pleura  or  mem- 
brane covering  the  lungs  and  lining  the  inside  of  the  thorax  or 
lung  cavity.  It  is  produced  by  the  same  causes  as  pneumonia, 
and,frequently  accompanies  that  disease. 

The  symptoms  are  about  the  same  as  for  pneumonia,  but  there 
is  greater  pain,  the  sheep  sometimes  moaning  in  agony.  Pleu- 
risy may  be  distinguished  from  pneumonia,  however,  by  the 
rattling  or  gurgling  of  the  lungs  when  the  breath  is  thrown 
out ;  this  is  caused  by  the  serous  effusion  in  the  lung  cavity 
or  thorax.  After  death  this  cavity  is  found  full  of  water,  the 
lungs  are  covered  with  livid  patches  like  flakes  of  bran,  but  their 
substance  is  not  impaired  unless  pneumonia  was  also  present. 

The  prescription  of  digitalis  and  potash  (one  scruple  of  digi- 
talis, one  dram  of  nitrate  of  potash)  may  be  given,  with  two 
drams  of  spirits  of  nitre  substituted  for  the  tartar  emetic,  in 
linseed  gruel,  twice  a  day  for  four  or  five  days.  Or  this  :  Give 
five  drops  of  tincture  of  aconite  in  a  tablespoonful  of  cold  water 
three  times  a  day. 


328  THE   AMERICAN   MERINO 

After  a  sheep  has  had  an  attack  of  pleurisy  and  recovered, 
there  is  apt  to  be  an  adhesion  of  the  lungs  to  the  sides  of  the 
chest,  and  this  will  forever  after  prevent  it  from  thriving.  If 
possible,  it  ought  to  be  fattened  and  sold  to  the  butcher. 

Prevention. — See  general  remarks  preceding  the  paragraph 
on  pneumonia.  All  sudden  changes  ought  to  be  avoided  with 
sheep  ;  even  a  change  from  poor  to  rich  feed  ought  to  be  made 
gradually.  Sheep  that  are  shorn  very  early  in  the  season  for 
market,  if  it  is  cold,  should  be  crowded  close  together  at  night 
in  a  small  room  to  keep  them  warm.  Yet  all  sheep  will  endure 
the  loss  of  their  fleeces  better  before  they  have  become  debili- 
tated by  the  heat  of  the  advancing  season  than  they  would  later 
— that  is,  they  will  withstand  a  greater  relative  change  in  tem- 
perature. 

Lambs  frequently  contract  some  disease  of  the  throat  or 
Ijngs,  when  follo\\  ing  the  ewes  on  windy  days  in  April,  after 
they  have  been  turned  on  grass.  Not  being  occupied  in  grazing 
and  having  no  exercise,  they  stand  doubled  up,  or  curl  down  on 
the. ground  in  the  most  protected  situations  they  can  find,  and 
thus  contract  violent  colds.  If  the  ewes  cannot  be  driven  to 
some  hillside,  protected  from  the  wind,  they  had  better  stay  in 
the  sheep-house  through  the  day,  fed  on  bran  and  clover,  even 
if  they  go  a  little  hungry,  rather  than  expose  the  lambs  to  the 
danger  of  protracted  naps  on  the  cold,  damp  ground. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  ALIMENTARY  SYSTEM. 

Constipation  or  "  Stretches."— Early  spring  or  winter  lambs 
often  suffer  from  costiveness  if  kept  wholly  on  dry  feed.  The 
excrement  becomes  very  dry  and  hard,  it  is  voided  with  diffi- 
culty, the  lamb  sometimes  bleats  with  pain,  fever  of  the  bowels 
comes  on,  and  death  will  ensue  if  relief  is  not  afforded.  A  half- 
ounce  dose  of  Epsom  salts  in  water  ought  to  be  given  to  the 
lamb  every  six  hours,  until  the  natural  consistency  of  the  faeces 
is  established ;  then  give  the  ewe  and  lamb  wheat  bran .  Dry 
bran  is  always  better  than  a  bran  mash,  because  the  sheep 
being  compelled  to  eat  it  more  slowly,  it  is  better  minglf >d  with 


FOR  WOOL   AND   MUTTON".  329 

saliva,  and  will  be  more  readily  and  more  completely  digested. 
Apples,  roots,  refuse  potatoes,  corn-stalks  or  leaves,  clover  hay, 
or  similar  laxative  food  will  prevent  the  trouble  ;  if  the  ewe  is 
kept  healthy  the  lamb  will  not  suffer. 

When  sheep  are  brought  up  in  the  fall  and  confined  in  winter 
quarters  on  dry  feed,  they  are  liable  to  colic  or  ' '  stretches  "  un- 
less great  pains  are  taken  to  make  the  transition  gradually. 

The  shepherd  seldom  perceives  that  the  sheep  is  ailing  until 
the  trouble  (which  is  simple  costiveness  at  first)  has  sufficiently 
advanced  to  assume  the  form  above  designated.  The  sheep  is 
observed  to  stand  still  and  neglect  its  feed  ;  it  looks  round  at 
its  sides  ;  lies  down  and  rises  ;  then  stretches  itself  very  much  as 
if  it  had  just  risen  from  a  sleep,  with  the  back  rounded  down. 
Occasionally  it  has  violent  colic,  lies  on  the  ground,  struggles, 
and  frets  away  the  earth  vv^ith  its  feet  in  a  semicircle. 

If  nothing  else  is  convenient,  a  handful  of  common  salt  will 
often  suffice  to  relieve  the  sheep.  Let  it  be  ttu-ned  upon  its  back 
and  a  tablespoonful  at  a  time  dropped  well  down  upon  the  root 
of  the  tongue,  the  jaws  being  held  until  the  salt  is  swallowed. 
Salt  and  water  would  be  better. 

Two  ounces  of  Epsom  salts  or  a  half-teacupf  ul  of  raw  linseed 
oil  will  serve  the  same  purpose  ;  give  the  salts  in  water,  from 
a  long  wine-bottle  or  a  cow's-horn.  Or  give  a  teaspoonful  of 
sulphur  mixed  with  molasses  or  lard  and  placed  on  the  root  of 
the  tongue.  If  the  sheep  is  valuable  and  seems  to  be  in  great 
distress,  it  is  well  to  reduce  the  risks  as  much  as  possible  by 
giving  an  injection  of  warm  water.  It  may  be  necessary  to 
repeat  it  several  times  before  the  engorged  bowels  are  fully 
relieved.  The  hind-quarters  should  be  held  up  almost  perpen- 
dicular to  allow  the  enema  to  work  down  and  dissolve  the  hard- 
ened ffeces. 

When  sheep  are  brought  up  in  the  fall  and  turned  on  dry 
feed,  if  they  have  free  access  to  salt  and  sulphur  (one  part  sul- 
phur to  four  of  salt),  it  wiU  assist  in  preventing  constipation.  But 
the  better  course  is,  if  practicable,  to  give  the  flock  a  few  hours' 
run  every  day,  for  a  week,  on  rowen,  rye,  turnip-tops,  or  some 
other  green  feed,  reserved  for  this  occasion,  to  break  the  sud- 
denness of  the  change.  Two  ounces  of  linseed  meal,  or  a  pint 
of  wheat  bran  per  day,  will  answer  the  same  purpose  very  well. 
Corn-fodder  is  better  than  hay  of  any  kind,  except  clover,  on 
which  to  make  the  transition  from  grass  to  dry  feed. 

Diarrhea  or  "  Scours."— Sheep  which  take  the  weather  as 
it  comes  through  the  winter,  running  out  every  day,  and  are 


330  THE   AMERICAiSr   MEEIN'O 

well  fed,  seldom  scour  when  green  grass  comes,  or  at  any  time. 
But  those  which  have  been  housed  more  or  less,  unless  thev 
have  received  roots  or  apples  all  winter,  or  at  least  for  several 
weeks  preceding  the  change,  will  show  a  greater  or  less  per- 
centage of  fouled  posteriors  soon  after  they  are  let  loose  in  the 
spring.  Lambs  are  more  liable  to  scours  than  grown  sheep  ;  the 
liability  to  this  trouble  steadily  diminishes  with  age,  until  the 
teeth  are  broken,  when  it  begins  to  increase.  Very  rank  grass 
in  a  wet  season,  the  pasture  on  low,  sour  lands,  frozen  clover  in 
the  fall,  frozen  turnip-tops,  weeds  which  have  grown  watery  in 
the  shade  of  corn,  are  among  the  causes  that  produce  diarrhea. 

I  have  seldom  failed  to  arrest  diarrhea  with  dry  wheat  bran  ; 
indeed,  bran  is  the  sheet-anchor  of  successful  American  sheep- 
husbandry.  It  is  not  desirable  to  stop  the  scours  too  suddenly  ; 
it  is  nature's  method  of  expelling  from  the  intestines  something 
which  is  offensive  to  them.  An  animal  in  poor  condition  is 
more  subject  to  the  scours  than  one  which  is  robust — the  bowels 
will  brook  less  strain.  If  the  discharge  continues  beyond  a  day 
or  two,  it  ought  to  be  checked,  for  it  will  then  begin  to  interfere 
with  nutrition  and  may  terminate  in  the  much  worse  disease, 
dysentery,  which  is  a  species  of  blood-disorder. 

The  sheep  affected  with  diarrhea  should  be  separated  from 
the  flock  and  kept  in  a  lot  with  little  green  feed  in  it,  and  fed 
on  bran  until  the  looseness  of  the  bowels  is  corrected.  If  the 
disease  is  persistent  and  mucus  is  voided,  give  a  tablespoonful 
of  castor-oil  (two  to  a  grown  sheep),  to  remove  any  matter  which 
may  be  irritating  to  the  bowels  ;  then  follow  this  up  in  three  or 
four  hours  with  two  teaspoonfuls  of  a  strong  decoction  of  oak 
bark  or  blackberry  root,  with  half  a  teaspoonful  of  prepared 
chalk  or  baking  soda,  morning  and  evening. 

The  above  remedies  -are  simple  and  easily  prepared,  and  are 
generally  all  that  is  required.  It  is  well  for  the  shepherd  to 
keep  in  stock  the  following  mixture  or  cordial,  prescribed  by 
Mr.  Stewart :  Prepared  chalk,  one  ounce  ;  catechu,  four  drams  ; 
ginger,  two  drams  ;  opium,  one  dram  and  a  half  ;  to  be  mixed 
with  half  a  pint  of  peppermint  water  and  bottled  for  use.  When 
needed,  shake  well,  and  give  a  lamb  a  tablespoonful  twice  a  day; 
a  grown  sheep  twice  as  much. 

Diarrhea  is  generally  a  sign  of  weakness  and  poverty ;  in- 
bred lambs  are  subject  to  it.  It  is  one  of  the  numerous  indica- 
tions of  faulty  management.  In  some  wet  seasons  it  is  so 
prevalent  as  to  become  almost  enzootic.  Exposure  to  storms, 
by  weakening  the  vitality  of  the  animal,  assists  in  bringing  it 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   3IUTT0K.  331 

on.  In  such  seasons,  lambs  ought  to  be  kept  m  condition  by 
grain-feeding  and  judicious  housing.  The  shepherd's  good 
sense  will  tell  him  what  kinds  of  vegetation  are  to  be  avoided  ; 
if  not,  he  will  discover  by  observation. 

This  being  a  disease  of  weakness,  there  is  special  need  of 
stimulation.  Hence,  to  the  above  purgative,  as  always  when 
this  class  of  medicine  is  given,  there  should  be  added  a  tea- 
Bpoonful  of  ginger  or  gentian. 

Tympanitis  or  Hoven.— This  is  an  unnatural  distension  of 
the  paimch  or  rumen  with  gas,  caused  by  a  diseased  condition 
of  that  organ  or  by  a  too  rapid  swallowing  of  very  green,  suc- 
culent feed — as  clover,  rape,  turnips,  etc.  It  is  not  so  common 
with  sheep  as  with  cattle,  yet  the  shepherd  will  sometimes  find 
a  ewe  (suckling  ewes  being  especially  liable  to  it,  owing  to  their 
constant  strong  appetite  and  voracity), to  all  appearances  healthy 
enough  before,  dead  and  much  bloated,  with  a  greenish  fluid 
flowing  from  the  mouth.  I  have  lost  a  number  of  ewes  from 
this  disease  (or,  rather,  this  chemical  process  which  usurped  the 
place  of  digestion),  on  a  field  of  red  clover  (which  is  worse  than 
white  clover),  though  they  were  on  it  constantly,  and  the  soil 
was  a  very  dry,  sandy  plain.  They  would  rise  at  daylight  with 
a  voracious  appetite,  eat  greedily  of  the  clover  while  it  was  wet 
with  dew,  and  be  dead  before  noon.  They  had  free  access  to 
salt. 

After  sheep  have  been  confined  to  dry  feed  all  winter,  espe- 
cially if  they  have  been  too  closely  housed  or  in  a  damp  stable, 
there  is  frequently  a  diseased  condition  of  the  rumen,  which  is 
manifested  by  a  lessened  secretion  of  the  alkaline  gastric  juices. 
Consequently  there  is  a  failure  of  digestion  ;  the  ingested  grass, 
instead  of  being  seized  upon  and  submitted  to  the  digestive 
processes,  begins  to  undergo  the  simple  chemical  process  of 
turning  acid.  Tliis  condition  points  at  once  to  an  alkaline  rem- 
edy. A  teaspoonful  of  water  of  ammonia  in  a  pint  of  water 
may  be  given  from  the  bottle  or  the  horn. 

The  puncture  of  the  paunch  with  a  penknife  or  with  a  trocar 
and  canula,  is  a  desperate  resort,  and  may  be  needed  to  save  the 
Kfe  of  the  sheep,  but  should  not  be  employed  until  other  meas- 
ures have  been  tried.  A  small  stick  placed  in  the  mouth  like  a 
bridle-bit  and  the  ends  tied  over  the  head  will  sometimes  cause 
the  animal  to  belch,  especially  if  the  paunch  is  kneaded.  But 
hoven  is  more  speedy  with  a  sheep  than  a  cow,  suffocation 
comes  sooner,  and  there  must  not  be  too  much  delay  in  resort- 
ing to  the  puncture. 


332  THE   AMEKICAN   MERIIsTO 

The  knife  is  to  be  inserted  on  the  left  side  of  the  spine,  close 
to  it,  and  half  way  between  the  last  rib  and  the  hip-bone,  be- 
cause at  that  point  the  paunch  is  suspended  by  adhesion  to  the 
wall  of  the  abdomen.  If  the  sheep  has  previously  been  laid  on 
its  right  side  the  discharge  of  gas  will  be  unchecked.  The  punc- 
ture will  generally  heal  of  itself,  but  it  is  better  to  take  a  few 
stitches,  as  described  in  the  paragraph  on  Worms. 

Sheep  fed  on  buckwheat  and  cotton-seed  are  more  subject  to 
hoven  than  those  fed  on  hay,  ground  oats  and  bran.  Give  lin- 
seed oil,  three  ounces  ;  turpentine,  one  dram.  Then  the  follow- 
ing may  be  given  twice  a  day  :  Linseed  oil,  six  ounces  ;  nitre, 
one  ounce  ;  mix,  and  add  glycerine,  four  ounces ;  chloral  hy- 
drate, two  drams  ;  mix.     Dose,  one  tablespoonful. 

If  nothing  else  is  at  hand,  and  the  case  does  not  yet  call  for 
the  puncture,  a  tablespoonful  of  soft  soap,  diluted  with  half  a 
teacup  of  water,  may  be  given  by  means  of  a  bottle  ;  or  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  carbonate  of  soda  (commercial  or  washing  soda),  or 
a  teaspoonful  of  chloride  of  lime  in  a  half -pint  of  water.  A 
tablespoonful  of  common  salt,  dissolved  in  a  little  water,  will 
be  beneficial. 

Sometimes,  when  a  punctiire  has  been  made,  it  closes  before 
entire  relief  is  given ;  it  may  be  necessary  to  reopen  it  with  a 
penknife  or  insert  a  quill.  After  the  effects  of  the  hoven  have 
passed  away  the  animal  should  receive  stimulating  food,  with 
a  little  ginger  or  gentian  added. 

PoisoxiNQ. — There  are  many  plants  or  herbs  in  different  lo- 
calities of  the  United  States  which  are  popularly  supposed  to 
be  poisonous  to  stock — Buckeye  (the  young  shoots  and  the  nuts), 
Laurel  (narrow  and  broad-leaved),  St.  John's  Wort,  Indian  Pea 
{Phaca  Nuttallii),  Tarweed,  Red  Baneberry  {Actcea  rubra)  and 
others. 

First,  I  will  present  an  extract  from  the  United  States  Agri- 
cultural Report  respecting  the  so-called  "  Loco- weeds  "  or  '*  cra- 
zy-weeds "  of  the  Far  West :  "A  considerable  number  of  plants 
has  boon  received.  Those  most  frequently  complained  of  have 
been  Oxytropis  Lamberti,  Astragalus  moWssimus,  and  SopJwi^a 
sericea.  In  addition,  there  have  also  been  mentioned,  and 
some  samples  also  have  been  obtained  of,  Oxytropis  inultiflorus, 
Oxytropis  deflexa,  Malvastrum  coccineum,  and  Corydalis  aurea, 
variety  occidentalis. 

**  The  reports  from  various  correspondents  and  from  widely- 
separated  regions  agree  closely  as  to  the  injurious  and  frequently 
fatal  effect  upon  animals  of  eating  these  '  loco- weeds.* 


FOR   WOOL  AN^D    MVTTOm  333 

"  The  habit  of  eating  these  weeds  seems  to  be  formed  because 
of  the  scarcity,  at  certain  seasons,  of  nutritious  grasses.  All  or 
nearly  all  of  these  plants,  except  Oxytropis,  have  a  bitter,  dis- 
agreeable taste,  yet  after  the  habit  has  once  been  formed  the 
animals  reject  the  sweetest  grasses.  Among  the  symptoms 
first  noticed  are  loss  of  flesh,  general  lassitude,  and  impaired 
vision  ;  later  the  animal's  mind  seems  to  be  aflEected  ;  it  becomes 
often  vicious  and  unmanageable,  and  flesh  and  strength  are 
both  raidly  lost.  When  approaching  some  small  object  it  will 
often  leap  into  the  air  as  though  to  clear  a  high  fence.  Fre- 
quently in  these  paroxysms  horses  have  died  from  falling  back- 
ward. 

"The  time  required  for  these  weeds  to  kill  animals  varies 
greatly,  some  dying  within  three  or  four  days,  others  lingering 
for  a  year  or  longer.  Some  correspondents  state  that  liorses 
seem  more  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  these  plants  than 
either  cattle  or  sheep  ;  others  report  that  all  are  affected  simi- 
larly. 

"  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  real  cause  of 
the  diseases  commonly  attributed  to  '  loco.'  Some  think  that 
the  animals  suffer  not  so  much  from  direct  poisoning  as  from 
lack  of  nutritive  food  and  water.  Mention  is  made  of  butter- 
milk as  an  antidote,  but  it  seems  not  to  have  proved  valuable." 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  in  case  of  poisoning  is  to  remove 
the  offending  matter  from  the  stomach.  To  effect  this  give  two 
ounces  of  Epsom  salts  in  a  pint  of  warm  water,  and,  if  the  ani- 
mal is  very  valuable,  injections  of  soap  suds  may  be  adminis- 
tered. After  this  it  remains  to  counteract  the  depressing  effect 
of  the  poison  upon  the  nervous  system  by  means  of  nervine 
stimulants.  From  my  experience  with  common  green  tea,  I 
would  recommend  a  trial  of  it  in  any  case  where  poisoning  is 
suspected. 

Buckeye  and  Laurel. — The  symptoms  of  poisoning  in  gen- 
eral are  reeling  or  staggering,  frothing  at  the  mouth,  grinding 
of  the  teeth,  rolling-up  of  the  eyes,  nervous  twitching  of  the 
muscles  of  the  neck  and  the  legs.  When  a  sheep  has  eaten 
Buckej'es  there  is  a  partial  paralysis  of  the  muscles  of  the  legs 
— that  is,  the  animal  is  wholly  unable  to  stand,  and  lies  helpless 
on  its  side,  fretting  away  the  earth  in  a  semicircle  with  its  legs  ; 
but  all  the  other  functions  seem  to  remain  ;  the  sheep  notices 
everything  about  it,  bleats  for  its  lamb,  eats  greedily  when  feed 
is  offered,  twitches  its  ears  to  drive  off  flies,  makes  an  effort  to 
leap  up  and  run  when  a  dog  comes  about,  etc.,  etc.     I  have 


334  THE   AMERICAl!^^   MERIN^O 

found  common  tea  an  almost  unfailing  remedy  for  both  Buck- 
eye and  Laurel.  It  will  afford  more  speedy  relief  from  the 
latter  than  the  former  ;  with  the  Buckeye  the  doses  may  have 
to  be  continued  two  or  three  days.  The  infusion  should  be 
made  strong — say  three  heaping  teaspoonfuls  of  the  best  green 
tea  in  a  pint  of  water,  to  be  boiled  (not  merely  steeped)  twenty 
minutes.  This  will  make  one  dose  ;  it  may  be  given  in  the 
morning,  and  another  like  it  in  the  evening. 

Sore  Mouth. — This  is  sometimes  thought  to  be  caused  by  St. 
John's  Wort  {Hypericum  perforatum)  in  the  hay,  sometimes  by 
any  dry  feed  in  the  winter.  Not  only  will  the  moaths  be  sore, 
bat  there  will  be  heavy  scabs  at  the  corner  of  the  mouth,  on 
the  lips  and  face,  extending  even  up  to  the  nose.  Two  or  three 
applications  of  copperas  water,  or  of  iodine  ointment  or  car- 
bolic ointment  will  generally  cure  these  sores.  To  remove  any 
irritating  cause  which  may  exist  in  the  bowels,  give  two  ounces 
of  Epsom  salts,  or  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  cream  tartar  or  of  sulphur, 
mixed  in  molasses  and  laid  on  the  root  of  the  tongue. 

Inflammation  of  the  Bowels  (Enteritis). — This  is  called 
"braxy"  by  the  English  shepherds.  It  is  not  common  in  the 
United  States  ;  I  have  seen  it  but  once.  I  copy  from  Mr.  Stew- 
art's description  :  "The  first  symptoms  are  weeping  and  red- 
ness of  the  eyes,  weakness  and  staggering,  loss  of  appetite  and 
rumination,  inaction  of  the  bowels,  swelling  of  the  flanks,  high 
fever  and  difficult  breathing  ;  a  puckered-up  appearance  of  the 
mouth  and  nostrils,  which  gives  a  peculiar  woe-begone  and 
pained  expression  to  the  face ;  a  tight  skin  and  rapid  emacia- 
tion. After  death  the  stomach  is  found  filled  with  putrid  food 
and  distended  with  gas ;  the  bowels  are  gangrenous  and  in  a 
state  of  decomposition  ;  the  liver  is  partlj  decomposed  and  filled 
with  degenerated  bile ;  the  spleen  is  gorged  with  blood,  soft- 
ened, enlarged,  and  not  unfrequently  ruptured,  ulcerated,  and 
and  exhibiting  a  seriously  diseased  condition." 

In  addition  to  this  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  bowels  are 
sometimes  marked  with  yellowish  spots,  as  if  stained  wiih  bile. 
Again,  the  intestines  and  lungs  are  fall  of  blood  ;  the  gall  blad- 
der very  large  and  full  of  liquid  bile.  This  is  a  cause  of  sudden 
death  to  lambs  sometimes,  and  is  classed  by  shepherds  loosely 
under  the  indefinite  designation  of  "  lamb  cholera." 

The  cause  must  be  sought  in  conditions  of  soil  and  water  and 
climate.  Low,  sour  lands,  very  hot  sunshine  and  bad  water 
seem  to  be  the  principal  causes.   Plenty  of  salt  with  wood  ashes 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOI?".  335 

in  it,  at  the  rate  of  one  part  of  ashes  to  four  of  salt,  is  often 
beneficial.  Or  the  sheep  may  be  dosed  once  a  day  with  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  salt  to  which  have  been  added  a  twentieth 
part  each  of  copperas  and  powdered  ginger  ;  the  whole  dis- 
solved in  a  half-pint  of  water.  To  try  a  change  of  pastiu-e  and 
water,  with  protection  from  the  hot  sun,  would  be  the  obvious 
dictate  of  prudence,  when  the  disease  is  prevalent  and  quickly 
fatal. 

English  sheep  brought  from  Canada  to  the  sweltering,  dry 
heat  of  an  Ohio  midsummer  wilt  down  quickly  and  perish  rap- 
idly from  a  disease  which  appears  to  be  enteritis,  and  which 
the  shepherds  call  "  black  rot." 

Foreign  Substances  in  the  Stomach. — Sheep  sometimes  ex- 
hibit a  depraved  appetite,  as,  for  instance,  a  ewe  will  nibble  at 
the  end  of  her  lamb's  tail,  biting  off  joint  after  joint  until  it  is 
eaten  nearly  or  quite  to  the  rooi.  A-t  other  times  they  will  pull 
out  their  own  or  each  others  wool  in  Kttle  locks,  and  swallow 
them  ;  or  they  will  swallow  mouthfuls  of  earth,  or  gnaw  rotten 
wood  or  other  substances  not  called  for  by  a  healthy  appetite. 

It  is  seldom  that  these  abnormal  manifestations  appear  when 
the  flocks  are  on  pasture  ;  they  generally  occur  in  the  winter, 
from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  are  caused  by  some- 
thing injurious  taken  into  the  stomach.  I  have  found  in  the 
second  stomach  of  a  lamb  clots  of  sand,  curd,  hay  and  other 
substances  held  together  with  wool.  The  lamb  had  swallowed 
the  wool  when  sucking  ;  it  had  never  been  properly  shorn  off 
the  ewe's  udder  at  the  tagging  season  in  spring.  Grown  sheep 
eat  wool  when  nibbling  in  their  fleeces  to  rid  themselves  of 
ticks,  lice,  etc. 

These  extraneous  matters  remain  in  the  stomach  because  it  is 
unable  to  digest  them  ;  they  derange  its  action  and  produce 
irritation.  The  sheep  seem  to  be  led  by  instinct  to  swallow 
earth,  sand,  rotten  wood,  as  a  purge.  They  act  strangely,  lose 
their  appetite,  mope  long  periods  in  silence,  turn  up  the  upper 
lip,  thrust  out  the  nose,  throw  back  the  ears,  etc. 

Their  instinct  points  in  the  right  direction ;  they  require  a 
purge.  Give  the  usual  dose  of  salts  heretofore  mentioned  as  a 
purgative,  in  thin  corn-meal  or  oat-meal  gruel. 

On  this  subject  Mr.  Stewart  says  :  "In  eating  hay  or  other 
dry  fodder,  foreign  matters,  such  as  nails,  pieces  of  wire  or  glass 
will  sometimes  find  their  way  into  the  stomachs."  I  cannot 
conceive  of  a  Merino  taking  its  feed  in  such  coarse,  ravenous 
fashion  as  to  be  able  to  accomplish  this  feat ! 


336  THE  AMERICAN   MERINO 

CHOKlNa. — ^It  is  risky  to  allow  sheep  to  run  in  an  orchard 
where  they  are  liable  to  swallow  small,  hard  apples  or  cling- 
stone peaches;  or  to  feed,  on  turnips  or  other  roots  cut  into 
pieces.  They  will  also  sometimes  swallow  dry  shelled  corn  so 
fast  and  with  so  little  mastication  as  to  become  choked,  though 
in  this  case  there  is  Uttle  danger  of  a  fatal  result.  Bat  with 
fruit  or  roots  there  is  liable  to  be  a  permanent  stoppage  which 
must  be  removed.  When  a  sheep  is  first  choked  it  dashes  vio- 
lently about,  shaking  its  head  and  striking  into  the  air  with  its 
forefeet.  After  awhile  it  stands  with  its  head  down,  breathing 
hard  and  with  saliva  running  from  the  mouth  ;  the  stomach  is 
apt  to  become  swollen  with  gas  or  with  air  swallowed  in  the 
effort  to  free  its  throat. 

If  tJie  object  cannot  be  worked  up  to  the  top  of  the  gullet  by 
the  thumb  and  fingers  pressing  on  the  outside  of  the  neck,  it 
will  have  to  be  pushed  on  down  into  the  stomach.  For  this 
purpose  employ  a  small,  flexible  rod,  like  a  rainrod,  well  oiled 
and  with  a  little  ball  of  tow  wrapped  smooth  and  tight  around 
the  end  to  prevent  it  from  lacerating  the  gullet.  Draw  the 
sheep's  head  and  neck  out  as  nearly  straight  as  possible,  intro- 
duce the  rod  and  carefully  feel  for  the  obstruction.  When 
found,  if  it  does  not  give  way  readily,  let  a  few  gentle  taps  be 
given  to  the  upper  end  of  the  rod  with  a  hammer. 

CoxGESTiox  OF  THE  LiVER. — ^The  causes  which  are  said  by 
Mr.  Stewart  to  produce  this  disease  have  never  developed  a  case 
within  my  personal  knowledge  ;  but  they  have,  instead,  led  to 
a  congestion  of  the  brain — in  other  words,  apoplexy.  Tlie  indi- 
cations of  a  congested  liver  are  obvious,  though  not  always 
plainly  manifest :  Constipation,  moping,  a  yellow  tinge  in  the 
eyes.  An  ounce  of  Epsom  salts  and  three  gi-ains  of  calomel 
may  be  given,  mixed  in  molasses  and  laid  on  the  tongue,  every 
morning  until  the  tone  of  the  liver  is  restored.  The  sheep  must 
not  be  allowed  to  drink  much  while  taking  calomel. 

IxFLAiEMATiON  OP  THE  LiVER. — This,  too,  I  have  never  seen  ; 
I  do  not  think  it  occurs  often  among  American  Merinos.  The 
symptoms  are  thus  described  by  Stewart :  "  The  system  becomes 
fevered ;  the  nose  and  mouth  hot  and  dry  ;  the  breath  fetid  ; 
the  ears  cold  ;  the  eyes  pale  and  glassy  ;  the  pulse  is  irregular ; 
breathing  is  slow,  and  the  expii-ations  short  and  sudden  ;  the 
dung  is  dry,  hai'd,  black,  and  glazed  with  a  greasy,  yellowish- 
green  mucus ;  the  urine  is  highly  colored*  scanty,  hot,  and 
smells  disagreeably." 


FOR  WOOL  AITD   MUTTOl!^.  337 

Give,  twice  a  day,  in  a  warm,  linseed  infusion,  the  following  : 
Sulphate  of  potash,  two  drams  ;  calomel,  five  grains  ;  powdered 
opium,  one  grain.  Warm  injections  may  also  be  given.  When 
the  animal  begins  to  mend,  give  light  aud  easily-digested  feed, 
as  wheat  bran,  crushed  oats,  bright  clover  hay,  and  in  the 
drinking-water  drop  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  vinegar  or  ten  drops 
of  aromatic  sulphuric  acid. 

Dysentery. — I  am  net  certain  that  I  have  ever  seen  a  case  of 
genuine  dysentery,  as  there  is  some  confusion  respecting  this 
and  diarrhea.  Randall  says  :  "The  stools  are  as  thin  or  even 
thinner  than  in  diarrhea,  but  much  more  slimy  and  sticky  ; " 
while  Stewart  and  Dadd  state  that  in  dysentery  the  stools  are 
generally  hard,  scanty  and  mixed  with  mucus  and  blood.  Dadd 
gives  several  rules  by  which  they  may  be  distinguished,  of 
which  I  quote  a  part : 

"  1st.  Diarrhea  most  frequently  attacks  weak  animals  ;  where- 
as dysentery  ofttimes  attacks  animals  in  good  condition. 

"2d.  Dysentery  generally  attacks  sheep  in  the  hot  months  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  diarrhea  terminates  at  the  commencement 
of  the  hot  season, 

*'  3d.  In  diarrhea  there  are  scarcely  any  feverish  symptoms 
and  no  straining  before  evacuation,  as  in  dysenteiy. 

***** 

"  6th.  In  dysentery  the  appetite  is  totally  gone  ;  in  diarrhea 
it  is  generally  better  than  usual. 

' '  7th.  Diarrhea  is  not  contagious  ;  dysentery  is  supposed  to 

be  highly  so." 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  contagion  can  be  imparted  only 
by  the  dung,  but  it  is  better  always  to  remove  an  affected  sheep 
from  the  flock  to  enable  better  treatment  to  be  given.  The  whole 
flock  ought  to  be  looked  to,  and  probably  some  change  made 
as  to  pasture  or  water,  and  some  better  provision  of  shade  be 
made.  The  treatment  required  is,  first,  a  dose  of  oil  (two  table- 
spoonsful  of  castor  or  linseed,  with  thirty  drops  of  laudanum 
added),  in  thin,  warm,  strained  gruel  made  of  Graham  flour. 
The  gruel  may  be  continued  for  several  days  as  a  nourishment 
and  emollient  to  the  bowels,  with  a  teaspoonful  of  laudanum 
added  once  a  day,  the  gruel  to  be  given  in  half-pint  or  pint 
doses,  according  to  the  size  of  the  sheep,  three  or  four  times  a 
day.  The  quantity  of  laudanum  may  be  diminished  daily  as 
improvement  takes  place. 

Hemorrhoids. — A  considerable  part  of  the  rectum  sometimes 


338  THE   AMERICAN^   MERINO 

becomes  everted  or  turned  inside  out,  protruding  as  a  red  and 
inflamed  tube  to  the  length  of  several  inches.  Occasionally  it 
will  be  in  the  form  of  a  lump  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg  or  larger. 
The  parts  are  to  be  carefully  cleansed  in  warm  water  and 
treated  daily  with  the  following  ointment :  Powdered  nut- 
galls,  two  ounces  ;  oxide  of  zinc  ointment,  six  ounces  ;  mix.  It 
may  be  necessary  to  put  the  sheep  in  a  dark  place  by  day  to 
protect  it  from  flies.  After  a  few  applications  of  the  above,  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  return  the  everted  intestine  to  its 
proper  position,  with  the  hind  parts  raised  above  the  head. 
Mark  the  sheep  to  be  drafted  from  the  flock,  and  get  rid  of  it. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
BLOOD  DISEASES. 

Congenital  Rheumatism. — Acute  rheumatism,  in  the  form 
generally  seen  in  lambs,  has  been  sufficiently  treated  already. 
But  constitutional  rheumatism  is  a  far  more  serious  and  com- 
plicated ailment,  and  is  one  of  that  list  of  diseases  which  speak 
strongly  of  mismanagement,  of  neglect  or  penuriousness  on  the 
part  of  the  owner.  The  shepherd  is  sometimes  puzzled  at  the 
appearance  in  his  lambs  of  a  disease  commonly  called  "joint- 
ail."  The  joints  of  the  legs,  especially  the  knees,  are  hot  and 
swollen,  and  the  lamb  goes  about  gingerly  or  stiffly  ;  there  is  a 
chalky  secretion  about  the  joints ;  they  are  sore  to  the  touch. 
This  is  one  of  the  manifestations  of  congenital  rheumatism,  and 
in  all  probability  the  lambs  are  indebted  for  it  to  the  ram,  per- 
haps, sometimes,  to  the  mothers. 

This  kind  of  rheumatism  lurks  in  the  serous  membrane ; 
hence,  besides  the  coverings  of  the  joints,  we  may  find  it  in  the 
tendons  and  ligaments,  and  in  the  membranes  which  cover  the 
heart,  lungs,  spinal  marrow,  bones,  muscles  and  brain.  It  often 
passes  rapidly  from  one  of  these  parts  to  another,  from  one 
joint  to  another.  The  animal  affected  with  this  disease  is  un- 
easy and  yet  unable  to  walk  naturally ;  if  a  ewe,  she  neglects 
her  lamb  ;  the  appetite  is  irregular,  sometimes  accompanied  by 
*'  loss  of  the  cud  ; "  the  dung  is  hard,  the  urine  hot,  high-colored 
and  scanty. 


FOR  WOOL  A^STD   MUTTONS".  339 

This  disease  is  sometimes  a  result  of  the  weakened  vitality 
caused  by  in-breeding  ;  it  is  in  general  a  disease  of  poverty  and 
penury.  A  rheumatic  ram  or  ewe  is  likely  to  transmit  to  the 
lamb  a  susceptibility  to  rheumatism  ;  it  is  a  blood  disease.  An 
overworked  ram  is  liable  to  it.  A  half -starved  flock  of  lambs 
may  show  symptoms  of  it  in  the  spring,  especially  if  they  have 
been  exposed  to  cold  storms.  If  a  ram  is  turned  into  a  large 
flock  of  ewes  and  allowed  to  run  with  them  unchecked,  his 
lambs  the  following  spring  may  be  expected  to  be  rheumatic. 

Tonic  and  stimulating  treatment  is  indicated,  with  protection 
from  storms.  Give  linseed  gruel,  bran  or  crushed  oats.  Begin 
with  a  mild  purge — say  two  ounces  of  Epsom  salts  and  one 
dram  of  ginger.  Then  follow,  twice  a  day.  with  :  Sulphate  of 
potash,  two  drams ;  sulphuric  acid,  twenty  drops ;  to  be  given 
in  a  half -pint  of  warm  water. 

A  pint  of  strong  tea  of  pennyroyal  and  sassafras  is  often 
beneficial  in  this  disease. 

Anthrax  Fe\^r  or  "Murrain." — This  terrible  malady  has 
appeared  sporadically  in  the  Western  States,  where  the  rich, 
rank  herbage  and  the  sweltering  heat  of  the  sun,  offer  favoring 
conditions  ;  it  is  sometimes  comjDlicated  with  inflammation  of 
the  bowels,  and  is  known  locally  as  "  Black  Rot."  It  is  related 
to  the  Texas  fever  or  Splenic  Apoplexy,  to  the  ^'  Loodiana"  of 
India,  the  "  Horse  Sickness "  of  South  Africa,  malignant  sore 
throat,  etc,  The  herbivora  and  birds  are  more  especially  its 
subjects.  It  mostly  affects  young  stock  in  the  Western  States, 
and  appears  either  in  the  spring  or  in  the  early  fall,  particularly 
when  there  has  been  a  drought  and  the  recurrence  of  rains  pro- 
duce rank  vegetation.  It  may  appear  as  a  result  of  a  too  sud- 
den change  from  poor  to  rich  pastures,  or  vice  versa ;  or  from 
dry  highlands  to  low  ground. 

The  sheep  gorge  themselves  on  the  watery  grass  in  unaccus- 
tomed plenty ;  the  stomach  and  bowels  are  overtaxed,  and 
unable  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  digestion  ;  they  become 
overloaded  with  a  mass  of  half -rotten  matter,  which,  instead  of 
affording  nutrition  to  the  blood,  loads.it  with  poison  ;  and  the 
flaming  heat  of  the  sun  completes  the  mischief  by  fevering  the 
foul,  black  blood.  The  eyes  are  red,  the  mouth  and  tongue  in- 
flamed and  blistered  ;  the  flanks  and  quarters  are  swollen,  and 
the  skin  is  disorganized,  so  that  the  wool  comes  out  at  a  slight 
pull.  It  is  chiefly  the  thriving  stock  that  is  attacked  ;  the  old 
and  the  poor  escape,. 


340  THE   AMERICA??^   MERINO 

After  death  the  internal  organs  rapidly  decay ;  the  body, 
when  opened,  is  found  full  of  black  blood,  and  there  are  large, 
black  patches  just  beneath  the  skin.  If  left  a  few  hours  un- 
touched the  body  becomes  enormously  swollen,  so  that  the  legs 
stand  out  horizontally,  the  tongue  protrudes,  and  a  quantity  of 
dark  mucus  or  slime  is  slowly  discharged  from  the  nostrils.  The 
flesh  and  fluids  of  the  body  are  highly  poisonous,  hence  flies 
may  spread  the  disease. 

The  healthy  sheep  ought  to  be  removed  at  once  from  the  dis- 
eased, and  receive  different  feed,  say  crushed  oats  or  bran,  for  a 
few  days,  with  a  limited  allowance  of  short,  sweet  grass  grow- 
ing on  a  limestone  soil,  or  on  healthy,  rolling  lands,  with  shade 
and  pure  water.  In  the  early  stage  of  the  disease  the  following 
ma}'^  be  found  efficacious  :  Carbolic  acid,  one  ounce  ;  bicarbo- 
nate of  soda,  four  ounces ;  vrater,  two  quarts  ;  mix.  Give  a 
tablespoonf ul  three  times  a  day.  Or  the  following  may  be  tried  : 
Sulphate  of  soda,  two  ounces ;  sulphur,  one  ounce  ;  powdered 
myrrh,  one  scruple.  To  be  given  in  oat-meal  or  any  other  gruel. 
In  six  hours  follow  this  latter  prescription  with  a  teaspoonful 
of  spirits  of  nitrous  ether  (sweet  spirits  of  nitre)  in  a  pint  of 
water.     Burn  the  dead  or  bury  them  deeply  and  secui'ely. 

"Pelt-Rot." — There  is  a  diseased  condition  of  the  system 
which  manifests  itself  by  a  loss  of  wool,  generally  at  first 
around  the  hind-legs,  then  on  the  sides,  and  so  up  to  the  back- 
bone. The  wool  peels  off  clean ;  there  are  no  scales  or  sores, 
but  the  skin  looks  reddish,  probably  from  cold  or  sunburn.  It 
occurs  most  frequently  in  ewes.  It  may  be  the  result  of  puer- 
peral fever,  or  of  over-feeding  with  corn,  or  there  may  not  be 
any  assignable  cause,  as  it  will  sometimes  occur  with  sheep  in 
good  cond:.tion.  Treatment :  Bathe  the  sheep  with  a  solution 
of  saltpetre,  one  ounce  to  the  quart  of  water. 

Plethora. — This  is  not  properly  a  disease ;  it  is  simply  an 
excess  of  blood,  though  it  may,  all  the  same,  result  fatally. 
Sheep  which  have  been  fed  to  a  very  high  condition  and  kept 
with  a  very  limited  amount  of  exeicise,  or  none  at  all,  are  most 
subject  to  plethora.  It  is  evinced  by  a  flushed  and  fevered  con- 
dition in  general,  distended  nostrils,  labored  breathing,  blood- 
shot eyes,  etc.  The  remedies  are  too  obvious  to  require  anything 
more  than  simple  mention,  such  as  bleeding  (from  the  facial 
vein  is  the  best\  purging  with  salts  or  castor-oil,  reduced  feed 
and  more  exercise,  given  gradually. 

But  the  most  serious  effects  of  plethora  generally  manifest 


FOR  WOOL  AXD   MUTTOX.  341 

themselves  in  the  lambs  of  over-fed  and  over-housed  ewes.  In 
New  York  State  in  1861-2,  and  again  in  Ohio,  twenty  years 
later,  there  was  a  fatality  among  lambs  which  amounted  almost 
to  an  epizootic,  caused,  it  was  very  generally  believed,  by  long 
confinement  and  dry -feeding  of  the  ewes,  and  a  consequent 
plethora  in  their  systems.  A  great  many  lambs  those  two 
seasons  had  very  sore  mouths  and  eyes  ;  they  were  sore  when 
dropped,  and  at  the  age  of  a  day  or  two  the}'  frequently  became 
blind.  Many  of  them  died  ;  some  recovered  under  treatment, 
which  consisted  simply  in  an  application  of  alum  water  to  the 
eyes  and  some  healing  ointment  to  the  sores.  The  plethora  of 
the  internal  organs  of  the  ewes  prevented  the  lambs  from  ex- 
pandini;-  to  their  normal  size  and  strength  ;  and  the  fevered, 
impure  blood  of  the  dams,  by  a  well-known  law  of  embryology, 
was,  so  to  speak,  strained  of  its  impurities  while  circulating 
through  the  unborn  oifspring. 

Ax-EMiA  OR  '-Pining. "—This  is  a  bloodless  condition  of  the 
system,  like  that  induced  by  parasitism,  but  without  the  para- 
sites. It  is  a  disease  which  affects  flocks  in  the  Scotch  High- 
lands ;  but  it  has  never,  so  far  as  my  observation  and  reading 
have  extended,  developed  itself  in  the  Western  United  States. 
Hoig,  the  "Ettrick  Shepherd,''  says:  "The  hair  of  the  ani- 
mal's face  becomes  dry,  the  wool  assumes  a  bluish  cast,  *  *  * 
and  when  dead,  there  is  found  but  little  blood  in  the  carcass,  and 
even  the  ventricles  of  the  heart  become  as  dry  and  pale  as  its 
skin."  It  occurs  in  dry  seasons,  he  states,  whereas  parasitic 
anaemia  is  most  prevalent  in  wet  ones. 

Of  pining  in  the  Eastern  States,  Mr.  Stewart  says  :  "  Wlien 
from  continued  wet  weather  the  pasture  becomes  rank  and 
watery,  the  flock  appears  at  first  m  an  excellent  and  thrifty 
state,  but  in  a  few  days  the  animals  are  found  lying  listless, 
with  drooping  heads  and  ears,  watery  eyes,  and  the  expression 
of  the  face  miserable  and  painful.  A  few  days  afterwards  the 
skin  is  tightly  drawn,  the  wool  becomes  of  a  peculiar  bluish 
cast,  the  skin  beneath  of  a  pearly  white  color,  the  eyes  are  also 
of  a  pearly,  bloodless  appearance,  and  death  is  busy  in  the  flock." 
The  cause  of  pining  is  thought  to  reside  m  the  character  of  the 
soil  itself  ;  almost  the  only  fact  which  is  known  with  certainty 
concerning  it  is  that  it  does  not  occur  on  limestone  soils.  The 
obvious  remedies  are  a  change  of  pasture  to  the  short,  sweet 
gi-asses  of  some  hillside,  together  with  high  feeding,  givmg 
bran,  cotton-seed  meal,  oil-cake  meal,  crushed  oats,  etc. 


342  THE  ameeica:n'  merixo 

Scrofula. — This  is  not  only  a  noxious  blood  disease,  but  it  is 
also  generally  hereditary,  though  there  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  under  certain  circumstances,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  prog- 
eny of  sheep  too  closely  in-bred,  it  may  be  developed  even 
where  the  ancestors  were  healthy.  Its  essential  element  con- 
sists in  a  taint  in  the  blood,  which,  though  it  may  for  a  long 
time  lie  dormant,  will  finally  manifest  itself  in  the  form  of 
tubercles  in  various  parts  of  the  body,  chiefly  in  certain  glands 
in  the  neck — the  parotid  and  submaxillary ;  less  frequently  in  the 
lymphatic  glands,  in  the  mesenteric  glands,  and  some  others. 
When  these  tubercles  are  deposited  in  the  lungs,  we  have  some- 
thing very  much  like  consumption  in  the  human  subject ;  and 
it  is  sometimes  called  by  the  shepherd  "  the  thumps,"  from  the 
loud  and  labored  beating  of  the  heart.  Indeed,  the  scrofulous 
condition  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  same  name  in  man,  in 
whom  it  is  interchangeable  with  consumiDtion,  rickets,  etc. 

This  is  a  disease  of  poverty,  overcrowding,  underfeeding, 
neglected  stables,  etc.,  which,  happily,  is  very  rare — at  least,  in 
its  malignant  forms — among  the  flocks  of  the  United  States. 
Under  the  form  in  which  it  is  most  frequently  found  it  is  gen- 
erally denominated  by  the  veterinarians  "  tuberculosis."  Sheep 
are  often  slaughtered — oftener  of  the  English  breeds  than  of  the 
Merino — which  have  the  mesentery  (the  membrane  which  con- 
nects the  bowels  together)  flecked  with  small  tubercles,  even  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  roctum=  These  are  sometimes  confounded 
with  parasitic  cysts.  Probably  the  flesh  of  a  sheep  in  which 
scrofula  has  no  further  extent  than  this  is  not  seriously  im- 
paired for  consumption  as  food — at  any  rate,  not  more  unwhole- 
some than  the  flesh  of  "rotted"  sheep  freely  sold  in  England  ; 
but  the  farmer  who  witnesses  or  performs  the  disembowelment, 
and  is  aware  of  tlie  nature  of  the  phenomenon,  would  not  care 
to  bring  the  flesh  to  his  own  table.  And  what  the  farmer  would 
not  offer  to  his  own  family,  he  has  no  moral  right  to  offer  to  the 
community. 

Wlien  the  disease  assumes  the  more  active  and  aggressive 
form  of  tumors  in  the  glands  of  the  neck,  the  sheep  has  passed 
out  of  the  blind  or  obscure  stage  of  tuberculosis,  and  other  very 
obvious  symptoms  appear,  A  cough  is  heard,  the  appetite  is 
feeble  and  capricious,  fever  sets  in,  the  eyes  and  nose  begin  to 
discharge,  and  emaciation  comes  on.  The  sheep  is  in  a  decline 
it  has  consumption.  The  skin  is  drawn  and  pallid,  the  body 
almost  bloodless.  It  is  now  too  late  to  save  the  sheep  ;  earlier 
in  the  progress  of  the  disease  the  following  may  be  given  :  Pow- 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  313 

dered  iodide  of  iron,  ten  grains  ;  mix  with  molasses  and  place 
on  the  root  of  the  tongue  once  a  day.  Tincture  of  iodine  or 
iodine  ointment  should  be  applied  to  the  external  ulcers. 

From  what  has  already  been  stated  as  to  the  nature  of  this 
malady,  it  is  very  obvious  that  a  scrofulous  animal  should  never 
be  used  as  a  breeder. 

Goitre. — Tliis  is  an  enlargement  of  the  thyroid  gland,  which 
is  situated  on  the  front  part  of  the  neck,  beneath  the  skin  and 
immediately  over  the  windpipe.  This  gland  is  a  little  larger  in 
females  than  in  males  ;  it  is  ductless,  having  no  excretory  func- 
tion. Goitre  in  lambs  differs  from  that  in  the  human  family, 
inasmuch  as  in  the  latter  it  only  appears  some  time  after  birth, 
even  in  goitrous  districts,  while  in  lambs  it  is  congenital.  This 
seems  to  show  that  it  is  due  to  some  condition  of  the  ewe  which 
affects  the  foetus.  That  it  is  not  due  to  lime  in  the  water  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  it  occurs  in  localities  with  every  kind  of 
soil  from  which  Hmestone  is  wholly  absent  and  where  water  is 
supplied  to  the  flock  aliogether  from  cisterns.  It  is  probably 
due  to  a  variety  of  causes,  among  which  may  be  named  same- 
ness of  feed,  overcrowding,  bad  ventilation,  dampness  of  the 
sheep-house,  lack  of  exercise. 

Prevention. — Tlie  breeding  ewes  ought  to  be  subjected  to 
the  best  possible  hygienic  influences,  the  most  important  of 
which  are,  good  ventilation,  dry  quarters  and  abundant  exer- 
cise. Some  noted  breeders  think  ewes  should  not  receive  grain- 
feed  during  gestation.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  objection 
made  to  wheat  bran  and  oats,  except  the  trivial  one  that  bran 
may  cause  the  shedding  of  wool  on  the  wrinkles.  Moderate 
feeds  of  shelled  corn  will  not  injure  pregnant  ewes  if  they  are 
otherwise  well  managed,  though,  of  course,  heavy  feeding  with 
it  may  prove  highly  deleterious.  I  have  for  many  seasons  given 
from  a  half -bush  el  to  a  bushel  of  shelled  com  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  ewes,  up  to  the  time  of  lambing,  without  pro- 
ducing any  ill  effects.  Beets  and  turnips  will  assist  in  prevent- 
ing goitre  and  the  accompanying  big  bellies  and  weak  constitu- 
tions. There  is  no  objection  to  clover  hay,  provided  the  sheep 
take  sufficient  exercise  to  keep  in  health.  When  a  ewe  fills  up 
on  clover  hay  she  is  apt  to  be  lazy  and  inclined  to  take  too  little 
exercise  unless  forced  to  it.  The  water  should  be  close  at  hand 
and  temperate,  to  induce  frequent  drinking.  But,  to  repeat, 
the  matters  of  preeminent  importance  are  dry  quarters  and  suf- 
ficient exercise. 


344  THE   AMEEICAK   MERINO 

The  treatment  is  to  give  some  form  of  iodine,  both  internally 
and  externally.  A  new-born  lamb  can  take  about  a  grain  of 
iodide  of  potassium  three  times  a  day  ;  it  should  be  given  in  a 
little  warm  water.  The  common  iodine  ointm^t  of  the  drug- 
stores may  be  rubbed  on  the  tumor. 

Hydrocephalus. — This  is  simply  a  form  of  scrofula,  in  which 
the  disorganized  blood,  instead  of  secreting  its  serous  or  watery 
portion  in  the  glands  of  the  body  or  neck,  as  in  other  forms  of 
scrofula,  deposits  it  in  the  head  (brain).  It  is  present  in  the 
lamb  at  birth,  the  head  being  sometimes  enormously  enlarged, 
as  if  the  lamb  had  been  nearly  strangled  in  birth.  Indeed,  it  is 
necessary  to  wait  a  few  houi-s  before  a  decision  is  made,  for 
when  a  ewe  has  had  a  very  difficult  and  protracted  labor,  the 
lamb  is  likely  to  have  a  head  so  enlarged  as  to  pass  readily  for 
a  case  of  "water  on  the  brain."  If,  after  six  or  eight  hours 
have  elapsed,  the  head  does  not  assume  normal  proportions,  the 
lamb  ought  to  be  killed.  If  there  are  many  cases  of  hydroceph- 
alus, either  the  ram.  or  the  ewes  or  both  ought  to  be  changed. 

Dropsy  or  "Red  Water." — In  the  Far  West  this  disease  is 
brought  on  by  the  sheep  feeding  on  frosted  or  snow-covered 
grass,  in  eating  which  they  swallow  a  good  deal  of  snow.  They 
become  "  water-bellied,"  as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  or  have  the 
"  murrain  ; "  they  are  dull  and  stupid,  and  stagger,  carrying  the 
head  to  oue  side  ;  the  eyes  are  staring,  sometimes  blind,  and 
there  is  obstinate  constipation.  Death  is  speedy,  and  the  au- 
topsy reveals  a  quantity  of  red  water  (not  blood,  as  is  errone- 
ously supposed)  in  the  abdomen,  secreted  from  the  peritoneum 
or  lining  of  the  belly,  which  is  inflamed  and  red  in  consequence. 

Prevention  is  all-miportant.  A  free  use  of  salt  is  recommended, 
also  tar.  In  the  case  of  large  flocks  the  latter  could  not  be  given 
readily  unless  it  was  smeared  in  the  salt-troughs.  Isolated  cases 
might  be  treated  with  the  usual  dose  of  Epsom  salts  and  ginger. 
If  there  are  symptoms  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels,  they  may 
be  treated  as  recommended  heretofore  (see  that  heading). 


FOR   WOOL   AND   MUTTOX.  345 

CHAPTEE    XXXIV. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 

Parasites  in  the  Head. — Grubs  and  hydatids  have  been  al- 
ready treated  under  "Parasitic  Diseases."  But  hydatids  are 
sometimes  the  cause  of  obscure  nervous  affections  which  may 
be  denominated  : 

Parasitic  Paralysis. — When  lodged  in  any  part  of  the  spinal 
cord,  working  their  way  to  the  brain,  they  sometimes  cause 
erratic  movements,  staggering,  partial  paralysis,  which  the 
shepherd  is  at  a  loss  to  explain.  When  the  hydatid  is  in  the 
left  hemisphere  of  the  brain  (and,  as  far  as  my  observation  ex- 
tends, the  same  is  true  of  a  grub  in  the  nasal  sinuses),  the  sheep 
will  have  a  tendency  to  go  in  a  circle  toward  the  left ;  when  it 
is  in  the  right  hemisphere,  toward  the  right ;  when  on  the 
medium  line,  the  sheep  will  move  somewhere  near  in  a  straiglit 
line,  but  with  the  head  held  high.  In  other  words,  there  is  a 
certain  "  method  in  its  madness,"  which  distinguishes  this  spe- 
cies of  cerebral  or  nervous  disturbance  from  the  diseases  of  the 
brain  which  are  produced  by  congestion  or  undue  pressure  of 
the  blood. 

Apoplexy. — The  owner  of  Merinos  is  sometimes  surprised,  on 
going  to  his  flock  which  has  lately  been  confined  to  winter 
quarters,  to  find  perhaps  one  of  his  best,  fattest  wethers  lying  on 
its  side  in  an  unconscious  condition  or  already  dead.  When  it  is 
skinned  the  blood  will  be  found  settled  thick  and  dark  just  be- 
neath the  skin, more  especially  on  the  side  which  was  underneath. 
In  all  probability  the  sheep  died  of  apoplexy.  The  sudden  cessa- 
tion of  the  exercise  which  it  had  freely  taken  before  it  was  con- 
fined (and  more  freely,  perhaps,  than  at  any  other  time  of  the 
year,  owing  to  the  growing  scantiness  of  the  grass)  caused  an 
undue  increase  of  blood,  which,  not  being  called  into  play  in 
the  legs,  was  determined  to  the  head  or  congested  about  the 
body,  as  above  mentioned.  A  sheep  laboring  under  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy  sometimes  seems  to  be  almost,  if  not  quite,  blind  ;  the 
eyes  are  dilated  and  staring,  but  the  pressure  of  blood  on  the 
optic  nerves  suspends  the  sense  of  sight.  It  reels  and  staggers, 
and  finally  falls  helpless  on  its  side. 

Apoplexy  principally  attacks  sheep  in  the  opposite  extremes 
of  condition — plethora  and  poverty  ;  the  latter  less  frequently. 
In  a  very  poor  sheep  certain  disturbances  of  the  digestive  func- 


.34:6  THE   AMERICAJ^^   MERI^^O 

tions  sometimes  result  in  a  determination  of  the  blood  to  the 
head.  Naturally,  the  treatment  of  the  two  cases  will  vary  ;  the 
fat  sheep  wiD  be  bled  and  purged  ;  the  poor  one  ought  to  be 
nourished  and  stimulated,  although  gradually  and  carefully, 
until  the  stomach  is  able  to  bear  the  greater  burdens. 

When  neglected,  this  form  of  disease  may  terminate  in  an- 
other still  more  violent  and  fatal,  viz. : 

IxFLAMJMATiON  ON  THE  Beain. — When  the  Congestion  is  long 
continued,  finally  the  brain  itself  becomes  inflamed,  and  the 
animal  becomes  frenzied.  Apoplex}'  is  intoxication,  but  inflam- 
mation of  the  brain  is  delirium  tremens.  The  mad  and  violent 
antics  of  a  sheep  in  this  condition  are  without  any  more  system 
than  those  of  a  decapitated  chicken.  Immediate  bleeding  is 
called  for,  and  in  considerable  quantity ;  the  blood  had  better 
be  drawn  from  the  neck.  Active  purging  ought  also  to  be  re- 
sorted to,  by  means  of  the  usual  (or  even  one  a  half  larger)  dose 
of  salts,  administered  in  solution  with  the  bottle  or  horn  to  in- 
sure speedy  action.  Warmth  and  perfect  quiet  in  a  dark  place 
would  also  commend  themselves  to  the  judgment  of  the  shep- 
herd. 

Paralysis. — In  apoplexy  and  inflammation  of  the  brain,  the 
affection  is  limited  to  the  brain  itself  ;  in  paralysis  a  part  or  the 
whole  of  the  spinal  cord  is  involved.  Thus,  in  the  fii'st  two 
maladies  there  is  irrational  action,  or  a  total  and  sudden  sus- 
pension of  action  ;  in  paralysis  there  is  a  gradual  suspension  of 
action  in  a  special  function  or  part,  or  of  the  whole  system.  A 
sheep  may  have  a  paralysis  of  one  side  of  the  head,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  one  eye  will  be  partly  or  wholly  closed,  one  ear 
will  be  lopped  down,  the  head  will  be  carried  inclined  to  one 
side,  and  the  cud  will  remain  unmasticated  in  the  side  of  the 
mouth.     This  would  be  classed  as  facial  paralysis. 

Then  there  is  another  species  of  paralysis  which  may  be  de- 
nominated paraplegia,  or  paralysis  of  the  two  hmd  leo-s.  Old 
and  poor  ewes  are  subject  to  this  when  in  an  advanced  stage  of 
pregnancy,  especially  with  twins  ;  it  is  the  result  of  an  mjury 
to  or  imperfect  nutrition  of  so  much  of  the  spmal  cord  as  sup- 
plies stimulus  or  life  to  the  posterior  portions  of  the  body. 

Special  or  local  paralysis  may  exist  in  any  other  part,  result- 
ing from  injury  to  or  atrophy  ot  the  nerve  leading  to  that  part. 
Thus,  injury  to  the  pneumo-gastric  nerve-trunk  will  cause  diffi- 
culty in  breathing  and  in  swallowing  ;  the  breath  will  be 
labored  and  stertorous. 


FOR  WOOL  AKD   ML'TTOif.  347 

It  is  not  always  easy  for  the  shepherd  to  determine  whether 
it  is  the  brain  or  the  nervous  system  that  is  affected.  If  it  is 
the  brain  (apoplexy  or  inflammation),  there  will  generally  be 
extreme  violence  in  the  actions,  followed  by  collapse  or  coma  ; 
if  it  is  the  spinal  cord  or  nervous  system,  there  are  not  gener- 
ally such  exhibitions  of  insanity,  but  a  gradual  loss  of  some 
function  or  of  nearly  all  the  functions.  Lambs  which  are  the 
result  of  in-breeding,  or  which  have  been  exposed  to  cold  and 
wet;  or  their  mothers  starved  or  kept  in  damp,  cold  stables, 
become  crippled,  change  from  one  leg  to  another,  become  help- 
less. Sometimes  grown  sheep  in  high  condition,  but  which  have 
been  kept  in  a  damp  stable,  will  fall  on  their  sides,  helpless  ;  if 
raised  to  their  feet  they  will  take  a  few  steps,  stiff -legged,  then 
fall  down  in  a  tremble,  grind  their  teeth,  and  froth  at  the  mouth. 
Ewes  which  have  come  to  parturition  poor  and  have  had  a  pro- 
longed labor ;  sheep  exposed  to  cold  winds  soon  after  being 
washed  or  shorn,  are  hkely  to  suffer  from  paralysis. 

In  short,  poverty  and  exposure  are  the  prolific  causes  of  pa- 
ralysis ;  and  this  simple  statement  of  itself  suggests  the  general 
remedial  measures  of  warmth,  nourishment,  stimulation.  A 
half  teaspoonf  ul  of  powdered  ginger  or  gentian,  given  in  warm 
milk  (if  for  a  lamb),  or  a  teaspoonf  ul  in  warm  gruel  (for  a  grown 
sheep),  or  the  same  amount  of  aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia  and 
water  of  ammonia,  rubbed  on  the  spine,  are  recommended. 

In  mild  cases  this  may  be  given  :  Spirits  of  nitrous  ether 
(sweet  spirits  of  nitre),  two  drams  ;  powdered  ginger,  one  dram  ; 
in  warm  gruel  of  some  kind. 

Palsy. — Same  as  paralysis. 

Epilepsy. — In  this  the  behavior  of  the  sheep  is  very  nearly 
the  same  as  in  apoplexy,  only  the  attacks  are  more  frequently 
recurrent.  The  sheep  stares  about,  staggers,  falls  in  convulsions  ; 
then  after  a  time  it  may  rise  to  its  feet  and  stand  for  a  while  in 
a  stupor.  It  is  thought  to  be  generally  caused  by  a  large  amount 
of  very  cold  feed,  such  as  frosty  grass,  taken  into  the  stomach 
suddenly.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  ascertain  the  causes 
and  remove  them. 

Lockjaw  or  Tetanus.— This  is  related  to  the  foregoing,  but 
the  causes  are  different,  and  are  confined  almost  to  a  single  one 
in  practice— namely,  exposure  after  castration.  I  have  castrated 
many  hundreds  of  young  lambs,  and  find  that  it  matters  little 
how  the  operation  is  performed  or  to  what  amount  of  dry  cold 
(not  wind),  they  are  exposed  to  afterward ;  but  with  mature 


348  THE   AMEBIC AJT  MERINO 

rams  much  more  care  must  be  exercised,  though  the  idea  enter- 
tained by  many  shepherds,  that  the  spermatic  cords  can  safely 
be  severed  ia  no  other  way  than  by  scraping,  is  superstitious. 
When  a  mature  ram  is  to  be  castrated,  the  two  points  of  the 
scrotum  ought  to  be  cut  off,  to  allow  accumulating  pus  to 
escape  while  the  wound  is  healing ;  then  a  long  slit  should  be 
made  down  the  front  side  of  each  testicle.  If  necessary,  let  the 
knife  be  drawn  down  a  second  time  and  cut  into  the  body  of 
the  testicle  itself  ;  this  will  insure  the  slitting  of  the  membrane 
which  envelops  it,  and  which  ought  to  be  allowed  to  remain. 

Lockjaw  has  few  external  symptoms  except  the  immovable 
closing  of  the  jaws,  with  now  and  then  a  bent  neck  and  a  rig- 
idity of  one  or  more  of  the  limbs.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to 
relax,  if  possible,  the  spasmodic  contraction  of  the  muscles,  so 
that  the  jaws  can  be  opened  and  medicine  administered.  A  hot 
bath  of  some  duration  will  assist  in  doing  this,  but  great  care 
must  be  taken  lest  the  animal  should  contract  additional  cold 
after  it.  If  the  jaws  can  be  opened,  give  the  usual  purge  of 
salts,  dissolved  in  a  half  pint  of  warm  wliisky  ;  then  follow  it, 
after  two  or  three  hours,  with  two  drams  of  laudanum.  A 
small  teaspoonful  of  ginger,  mixed  in  warm  slippery-elm  or  lin- 
seed tea,  or  oat-meal  gruel,  given  two  or  three  times  daily,  will 
be  beneficial. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

DISEASES    OF    THE    URINARY    AND    REPRODUCTIVE 

ORGANS. 

MAMMnis  OR  Garget. — Inflammation  of  the  udder  and  the 
loss  of  one  or  both  of  the  teats,  are  a  somewhat  common  trouble 
with  Merino  ewes.  It  is  oftener  the  free  milkers  than  the 
scanty  ones  which  are  thus  affected,  as  a  result  partly  of  this 
full  supply  of  milk  and  partly  of  neglect.  High  feeding  on 
com  during  pregnancy  is  a  not  infrequent  cause  of  garget.  If, 
when  the  lambs  are  weaned,  the  ewes  are  running  on  flush  pas- 
ture and  the  free  milkers  do  not  receive  some  attention,  their 
udders  are  apt  to  become  painfully  distended  and  swollen,  and 
thus  a  foundation  is  laid  for  mammitis  next  spring.     For,  from 


FOR  WOOL  AlfD   MUTTON".  349 

whatever  cause  arising,  one  attack  of  this  affection  predisposes 
the  ewe  to  a  second.  The  Merino  ewe  which  has  borne  two  or 
three  lambs,  is  also  apt  to  have  a  baggy  enlargement  of  one  teat, 
which  causes  the  lamb  to  neglect  it,  and  unless  much  care  is 
used  an  inflammation  w^l  be  allowed  to  set  in  which  will  make 
matters  worse.  Garget  is  caused,  too,  by  ewes  sleeping  in  cold, 
damp  places  too  soon  after  parturition. 

A  flock  of  ewes  once  gargeted  wiJl  frequently  show  an  obsti- 
nate recurrence  to  it  at  the  next  lambing-time,  even  when  the 
management  in  the  meantime  has  been  faultless.  It  is  not 
worth  while  to  repeat  the  experiment ;  a  ewe  subject  to  this 
trouble  had  better  be  drafted,  fattened  and  sold. 

The  inflamed  udder  should  be  treated  with  hot  fomentations 
of  spirits  of  camphor,  and  if  the  ewe  is  very  valuable,  a  solution 
of  carbonate  of  soda  may  be  injected  into  the  teats  with  a  small 
syringe  and  then  milked  out.  Give  the  following  :  Epsom  salts, 
two  ounces ;  nitrate  of  potash  (saltpetre),  two  drams  ;  ginger, 
one  dram  ;  may  be  given  in  water  once  a  day. 

Retention  of  the  Fcetus. — Dr.  Edward  IMoore  states  that 
there  is  a  case  on  record  where  a  foetus  was  retained  three  years, 
and  yet  the  ewe  survived  ?  But  generally,  if  a  ewe  goes  beyond 
one  hundred  and  fif i.y-eight  days,  the  foetus  is  dead  and  must 
be  removed,  or  the  ewe  will  die.  Wlien  the  lamb  dies  before 
birth  Nature  generally  corrects  the  mistake  by  an  abortion  ; 
that  is,  the  foetus  is  expelled  as  soon  as  life  is  extinct.  But  if 
the  ewe  is  weak  or  unhealthy  the  expulsion  may  not  take  place, 
and  relief  must  be  afforded  at  once.  The  ewe  will  give  notice 
of  a  calamity  having  occurred  by  moping,  refusing  feed,  by  a 
twitching  of  the  ears  and  hind  legs,  and,  more  than  all,  by  an 
exceedingly  offensive,  dark  discharge  from  the  vagina.  Mr. 
Stewart  recommends  the  dilatation  of  the  mouth  of  the  womb 
with  the  extract  of  belladonna,  to  facilitate  the  expulsion,  but  I 
have  not  found  this  necessary.  I  have  had  uniform  success  by 
proceeding  as  described  on  page  89,  in  an  ordinary  case  of  false 
presentation. 

The  treatment  is  as  follows :  Take  calomel,  eight  grains ; 
extract  of  hyoscyamus,  one  dram  ;  linseed  tea,  half  a  pint  ; 
mix,  and  give  two  tablespoonf uls  twice  a  day.  With  this  al- 
ternate the  following :  Epsom  salts,  eight  ounces  ;  nitrate  of 
potash,  half  an  ounce  ;  carbonate  of  soda,  two  ounces ;  water, 
one  pint ;  give  a  quarter  of  a  pint  twice  a  day.  Shake  up  before 
using.  As  soon  as  the  bowels  have  been  moved,  omit  the  above 
and  give  this  :    Nitrate  of  potash,  half  an  ounce  ;  carbonate  of 


350  THE  AMEEICAN  MEEINO 

soda,  one  ounce  ;  camphor,  one  dram  ;  gum  water,  eight  ounces  ; 
dose,  an  eighth  of  a  pint  twice  a  day.  Tlie  ewe  should  be  fed 
on  warm,  thin  oat-meal  gruel,  and  if  the  discharge  is  very  offen- 
sive, a  dram  of  chloride  of  lime  in  a  pint  of  warm  water  may  be 
injected  into  the  vagina. 

E VERSION  OF  THE  UTERUS. — A  cwe  which  has  a  false  presen- 
tation, or  a  stricture  of  the  uterus,  will  sometimes  continue  her 
efforts  at  expulsion  until  the  uterus  is  completely  everted  or 
turned  inside  out,  so  that  it  protrudes  from  the  vagina  as  a  red, 
inflamed  sack  as  large  as  a  child's  head.  It  augurs  very  ill  for 
the  vigilance  and  keen-sightedness  of  the  shepherd  that  he 
should  allow  labor  to  proceed  so  long  and  so  violently  without 
giving  help,  perhaps  not  even  perceiving  that  there  was  a  case 
of  distress.  An  inexperienced  shepherd  is  excusable  for  not 
seeing  or  understanding  what  is  about  to  happen  ;  but  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  such  a  deplorable  accident  need  never  occur  in  a 
flock  which  is  carefully  watched.  A  uterus  can  hardly  be 
everted  in  less  than  ten  or  twelve  hours  of  severe  labor. 

In  the  first  place,  the  ewe  must  be  delivered,  carefully  and 
gently  ;  then  the  uterus  should  be  washed  with  warm  water  or 
alum  water  and  returned  to  its  place  by  some  one  having  a 
small  hand,  and  with  the  finger  nails  well  pared  off.  It  may  be 
everted  a  second  time,  and  the  shepherd  must  determine  whether 
the  ewe  is  sufficiently  valuable  to  justify  more  thorough  meas- 
ures. With  a  curved  spaying-needle  let  two  stitches  be  taken 
across  the  vagina  with  a  strong  linen  thread,  each  stitch  being 
independent,  with  the  thread  cut  off  and  tied  for  each  stitch. 
Let  the  ewe  be' laid  on  her  side  on  a  decently  soft  bed,  with  the 
head  considerably  lower  than  the  hind  parts  (not  more  than  a 
foot  lower),  and  the  hind  legs  be  padded  and  tied  with  a  rope  to 
a  beam  or  something,  to  keep  her  from  sliding  down.  Let  her 
be  turned  over  every  few  hours,  for  comfort.  "When  she  takes 
feed,  which  should  be  some  nutritious  gruel,  given  in  a  bottle 
or  horn,  care  must  be  taken  that  she  does  not  struggle  or  get 
into  a  position  to  endanger  her.  After  two  or  three  days  she 
may  be  tried  on  her  feet — the  stitches  still  being  in — but  should 
be  kept  very  quiet  for  some  time  longer. 

Where  straining  is  continued,  a  truss  or  pad  is  sometimes  ap- 
plied, and  tied  forward  to  a  collar  around  the  neck  to  keep  it 
from  slipping  back. 

Retention  of  Urine  or  Diuresis. — This  is  not  a  common 
disease  among  Merinos,  being  confined  mostly  to  the  root-led 


FOE   WOOL  AJSTD  MUTTOX.  351 

English  breeds.  It  is  caused  primarily  by  improper  feed  or 
water,  or  by  sleeping  in  damp  places.  In  other  words,  these 
causes  produce  cystitis  or  inflammutiou  of  the  bladder,  and  this 
in  turn  brings  about  a  retention  of  the  urine.  And  when  the 
urine  is  retained  in  the  bladder  until  it  becomes  full,  the  further 
secretion  of  it  is  measurably  or  wholly  stopped,  and  excretion 
of  urine  (diuresis)  sets  in — that  is,  a  part  of  the  urine  is  removed 
from  the  systam  through  the  skin.  Moldy  hay,  wheat  straw  in 
too  great  quantities,  second-growth  clover  containing  ragweed, 
lobelia,  and  other  irritatmg  weeds,  are  among  the  causes  of  in- 
flammation of  the  bladder.  Excessive  feeding  on  corn  or  meal 
and  the  drinking  of  hard  water  also  sometimes  cause  it. 

The  ram  or  wether  is  more  subject  to  urinary  troubles  than 
the  ewe,  on  account  of  the  greater  length  of  the  urinary  canal 
and  the  peculiar  vermiform  or  worm-like  appendage  at  the  end 
of  the  penis,  through  which  the  passage  is  so  small  that  it  easily 
becomes  obstructed.  The  symptoms  are  uneasiness,  stepping 
or  stamping,  striking  at  the  belly  with  the  hind  legs,  looking 
around  at  the  sides,  a  bending  of  the  back  downward,  a  con- 
stant dropping  of  urine  from  the  pizzle,  a  spreading  of  the  legs 
apart  and  straining  to  urinate.  As  a  remedy,  take  of  creosote, 
half  an  ounce  ;  acetic  acid,  two  ounces ;  water,  one  pint ;  mix 
and  keep  well  corked,  away  from  frost.  Give  one  teaspoonful 
in  the  water  the  sheep  drinks,  twice  a  day  ;  if  necessary,  give  it 
by  means  of  the  bottle.  If  the  sheep  is  vigorous  it  may  be  bled 
in  the  neck,  taking  a  half-pint.  During  treatment  it  should  be 
kept  dry  and  warm  and  fed  on  crushed  oats  or  bran,  with  sweet 
hay  and  plenty  of  salt.  If  there  is  much  fever,  give  the  follow- 
ing to  a  strong  ram  :  Linseed  oil,  two  ounces  ;  laudanum,  two 
drams.  If  the  fever  continues,  give  the  dose  a  second  time, 
one-half  reduced.  For  a  small  sheep  diminish  the  dose  propor- 
tionately. 

Gravel  or  Stone. — A  ram  which  habitually  drinks  lime- 
stone water  may  have  a  chalky  deposit  in  the  bladder  which 
effectually  stops  the  passage  of  urine,  and  this,  of  course,  is 
fatal.  Rams  running  at  large  are  less  apt  to  be  thus  affected. 
On  a  limestone  farm  a  housed  ram  ought  to  receive  cistern- 
water. 

Stoppage  of  Urethra. — Rams  or  wethers  on  a  short  allow- 
ance of  water,  summer  or  winter,  or  drinking  water  that  is 
strongly  charged  with  earthy  matters,  may  have  a  sediment  de- 
posited in  the  urinary  canal.     The  symptoms  will  be  the  same 


352  THE    AMEKICAX   MEKIK"0 

as  those  described  for  "  retention  of  urine,"  and  will  therefore 
probably  be  treated  the  same  way  at  first.  If  no  improvement 
occurs,  the  shepherd  may  take  it  for  granted  that  a  stoppage 
exists.  The  ram  will  have  to  be  set  on  his  rump,  the  penis  with- 
drawn from  the  sheath,  and  the  "  worm  "  or  vermiform  append- 
age cut  off.  This  may  seem  unnecessarily  summary  and  severe, 
but  it  is  an  operation  not  nearly  so  painful  to  the  ram  as  castra- 
tion, and  it  does  not  impair  his  usefulness  in  a  majority  of 
cases.  The  operation  of  slitting  the  penis  or  urethra  lengthwise 
is  one  which  should  not  be  undertaken  except  upon  the  advice 
and  with  the  assistance  of  an  experienced  veterinary  surgeon. 
After  the  vermiform  appendage  has  been  cut  off,  a  gentle  pres- 
sure with  the  thumb  and  finger  will  generally  remove  the  sedi- 
ment by  causing  the  urine  to  wash  it  out.  If  after  this  operation 
the  animal  appears  to  have  still  some  retention  of  urine,  the 
following  may  be  given  to  act  on  the  neck  of  the  bladder  :  Lin- 
seed oil,  three  ounces  ;  extract  of  belladonna,  ten  grains. 

Clap. — The  ordinary  symptoms  of  this  disease  are  the  same 
as  in  the  foregoing  urinary  troubles,  but  a  white  acrid  discharge 
finally  sets  in  from  the  penis  or  vagina,  which  is  pathognomonic. 
It  may  occur  in  either  sex,  by  contagion,  or  arise  de  novo 
from  excessive  work,  as  when  a  ram  is  turned  into  a  flock  of 
ewes  to  serve  them  promiscuously.  K  allowed  to  run  its  course 
unchecked,  this  white  acrid  discharge  would  ultimately  cause 
ulceration  and  destruction  of  the  parts.  The  remedy  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Spmts  of  camphor,  four  ounces ;  sugar  of  lead ,  one 
ounce  ;  sulphate  of  zinc,  two  ounces  ;  water,  one  quart ;  mix 
and  put  into  a  bottle.  Then  place  the  ram  on  his  rump,  draw 
the  penis  carefully  from  the  sheath,  holding  it  in  a  soft  old 
piece  of  Hnen  wet  with  the  above  liquid,  until  the  ulceration 
can  be  traced  to  its  upper  Umit.  Bathe  thoroughly  with  the 
lotion  once  a  day.  If  a  ewe  has  contracted  the  disease  from  a 
ram,  a  small  sponge  tied  securely  to  the  end  of  a  smooth  stick 
and  saturated  with  this  lotion  mav  be  introduced  several  times 
into  the  vagina  ;  and  for  greater  thoroughness  some  of  it  may 
be  injected  into  the  uterus  with  a  syringe. 

Bloody  Urine  or  ALBuanxuRiA. — This  is  often  erroneously 
called  "red  water,"  a  designation  which  correctly  belongs  to 
the  abdominal  affection  l  J  ready  noticed.  It  is  a  disease  of  the 
kidneys,  caused  by  improper  feed  or  water,  exposure,  damp 
stables,  etc.  Sheep  thus  troubled  are  generally  also  weak,  fever- 
ish, and  seem  to  lose  control  of  their  legs  ;  the  urine  is  actually 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOJ^T.  353 

stained  with  blood.  Sometimes  this  disease  is  very  prevalent 
in  a  flock  of  ewes — generally  in  the  winter.  A  change  of  feed 
should  be  adopted  ;  clean,  bright  hay,  or  cornstalks  with  crushed 
oats,  bran,  Unseed  meal,  and  plenty  of  salt  (but  no  sulphur) 
should  be  given.  Chronic  albuminuria  is  incurable ;  ewes 
afflicted  with  it  are  unfit  for  breeders,  and  should  be  fattened 
and  sold  to  the  butcher. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 

Fractures. — On  the  Pacific  coast  sheep  sometimes  break 
their  legs  in  the  deep  cracks  formed  in  summer  in  the  black 
•* adobe"  soil.  In  driving  a  flock  through  "a  pair  of  bars," 
which  are  a  nuisance  on  a  sheep-farm,  the  careless  shepherd 
often  lets  down  two  or  three  bai'S  at  one  end  only,  thus  com- 
peUing  part  of  the  sheep  to  jump  or  tumble  over,  at  the  risk  of 
fracturing  a  bone  or  two.  Unless  the  sheep  is  very  valuable, 
and  the  owner  has  a  special  faculty  for  surgery,  it  had  better  be 
let  alone,  mostly,  for  no  broken  bones  heal  so  rapidly  as  those 
of  the  sheep.  Splints  or  a  ligature  are  apt  to  do  more  harm 
than  good,  unless  carefully  watched.  About  all  that  is  neces- 
sary is  to  put  the  sheep  into  a  separate  pen  or  yard,  to  prevent 
it  from  being  jostled.  I  never  knew  a  broken  bone,  even  in  an 
old  sheep,  to  fail  to  knit  without  any  further  attention.  When 
the  break  is  in  the  fore-leg,  below  the  knee,  three  splints  may 
be  applied,  with  padding  between  them  and  the  leg  ;  then  the 
latter  may  be  bent  up  and  the  lower  end  of  it  securely  tied  to  a 
lock  of  wool  on  the  shoulder.  If  the  break  is  above  the  knee, 
no  splints  are  needed,  but  the  leg  may  be  tied  to  the  wool,  as 
above,  to  prevent  dangling. 

Wounds. — A  wound  in  a  sheep  will  heal  more  readily  than 
one  in  any  other  domestic  animal,  if  it  can  be  secured  from  the 
attacks  of  maggots  ;  but  this  is  the  great  difficulty.  The  sheep's 
flesh  seems  to  be  more  attractive  to  these  vermin  than  that  of 
any  other  stock.  If  a  wound  occurs  in  the  winter,  it  is  a  simple 
and  easy  matter  to  heal  it ;  but  if  it  is  in  the  summer  the  shep- 
herd will  be  obliged  to  expend  a  great  deal  of  labor  and  care  to 
Bave  the  sheep,  and  it  is  for  him  to  decide  whether  it  is  valuable 


354  THE   AMERICAI^   MERIJ^O 

enough  to  justify  the  trouble.  If  a  wound  penetrates  the  flesh 
even  very  slightly,  it  must  suppurate  in  healing,  and  suppura- 
tion will  infallibly  attract  maggots.  Hence,  thorough  precau- 
tions must  be  adopted  against  these.  The  best  thing  to  do  is  to 
put  a  wide  cloth  bandage  around  the  body,  neck  or  limb,  reach- 
ing beyond  the  wound  two  or  three  inches  on  each  side  ;  sew  it 
securely  and  keep  it  saturated  with  oil  of  sassafras  and  whis- 
key, kerosene,  benzine,  or  some  other  substance  offensive  to 
flies.  Otherwise  they  wiU  infallibly  "blow"  the  wound  or  the 
pus  just  below  it,  and  then  the  sheep  is  gone. 

If  the  wound  is  a  simple  cut,  a  clean  stitch  about  every  inch 
— each  stitch  being  independent,  made  straight  across,  and  the 
thread  tied  and  cut  off  for  each  stitch — may  be  taken  in  it  just 
tight  enough  to  bring  the  lips  of  the  wound  together,  but  not 
tight  enough  to  pucker  the  flesh.  If  the  wound  is  so  shaped 
that  it  has  a  pocket  anywhere,  a  slit  ought  to  be  ihade  with  a 
sharp  knife  as  far  down  as  the  bottom  of  the  pocket,  so  that  all 
the  pus  can  escape.  The  lower  stitch  may  also  be  left  3,  httle 
slack  to  secure  the  same  object.  A  puncture  or  stab-wound 
may  be  treated  the  same  way,  especial  care  being  taken  to  pro- 
vide an  exit  for  all  the  pus  quite  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
wound.  A  torn  and  ragged  wound — for  instance  one  made  by 
a  dog — will  cost  more  to  cure  than  the  sheep  is  worth,  unless  it 
is  in  the  winter  or  the  animal  is  exceptionally  valuable.  I  have 
known  a  dog-bite  in  a  perfectly  healthy  yearling,  to  suppurate 
for  more  than  three  months.  Even  if  the  sheep  can  be  saved, 
a  dog-bite  anywhere  about  the  legs  or  quarters  generally  cripples 
it  for  life,  it  is  so  poisonsus.  All  small  fragments  of  skin  and 
flesh  should  be  trimmed  off  smooth,  and  the  wound  stitched  up 
as  above  described.  If  much  skin  is  gone,  the  stitches  may  be 
put  closer  together  and  drawn  considerably,  so  as  to  somewhat 
pucker  the  skin,  as  the  latter  will  sooner  knit  over  the  wound 
this  way  than  if  a  good  deal  of  new  skin  has  to  be  formed.  A 
pursed  or  puckered  scar  is  not  a  deformity  in  a  sheep,  as  it 
would  be  in  a  horse,  and  the  wound  will  heal  sooner  if  every- 
thing except  the  very  largest  fragments  of  flesh  (and  all  the 
loose  skin)  are  cut  away,  than  it  would  if  an  attempt  were  made 
to  save  and  stitch  together  the  hanging  shreds  of  flesh.  The 
wound  should  be  bathed  at  least  once  a  day  with  carbolic  acid 
greatly  diluted  with  water  or  glycerine  (one  part  of  acid  to 
twenty-five  of  glycerine),  or  with  compound  tincture  of  ben- 
zoin. Careful  provision  must  be  made  for  the  escape  of  the 
pus,  as  above  directed. 


FOR   AVOOL   AND    MUTTON".  355 

Sore  Eyes. — Sheep  are  sometimes  seen  with  red  eyes,  matter 
formed  at  the  comers,  tears  flowing  from  them.  These  indica- 
tions are  proof  that  they  have  taken  cold  or  have  irritated  their 
eyes  by  thrusting  down  their  heads  into  stubble  or  among  briers  ; 
a  ram  sometimes  has  sore  eyes,  caused  by  a  too  tight-fitting  cap 
placed  over  his  face  to  keep  him  from  fighting.  The  remedy  is 
simple  ;  it  consists  in  the  application,  once  or  twice  a  day,  of  a 
wash  made  as  follows  :  Sulphate  of  zinc,  four  grains  ;  warm 
water,  one  ounce.     Pure  comb-honey  is  also  good. 

Insect  Plagues.— In  some  parts  of  the  Southern  States, 
especially  in  Louisiana,  the  Buffalo  gnat  is  exceedingly  trouble- 
some to  sheep,  as  well  as  all  other  stock.  It  makes  its  appear- 
ance usually  about  the  first  of  August  and  continues  about  two 
months,  though  in  very  mild  winters  it  Ungers  until  in  Decem- 
ber. It  is  troublesome  for  only  a  short  time.  It  tortures 
horses,  cattle  and  sheep  fearfully.  Great  numbers  of  horses 
and  mules  are  destroyed  by  them  on  the  "  swamp  plantations." 
On  the  uplands  they  are  not  so  troublesome.  Whiskey  is  the 
remedy.  Grease,  mixed  with  a  little  tar,  pennyroyal,  or  other 
stinking  stuff,  and  applied  about  the  flank,  throat,  etc.,  the 
preventive.  The  ammonia  of  stables  is  repellent  to  the  gnat 
and  in  these  animals  are  safe  from  its  attacks. 

In  the  Far  West,  in  Southern  Oregon,  Northern  California, 
Washington,  Idaho,  Nevada,  there  are  certain  regions  in  the 
mountains  where  the  Ear-fly  is  a  great  pest  to  stock.  The  pre- 
ventive against  this,  too,  is  grease,  which  is  rubbed  thoroughly 
on  the  inside  of  the  ears. 

The  prairie-dogs  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  ground- 
squirrels  of  the  Pacific  coast,  are  a  great  annoyance  to  the 
shepherd ;  they  destroy  thousands  of  acres  of  valuable  grass, 
gnawing  the  ground  as  bare  as  the  public  kighway.  Smoking 
with  sulphur,  poisoning  with  strychnine,  drowning  out  with 
water  and  other  expedients  have  been  tried,  but  they  all  avail 
little  against  then*  countless  numbers.  Probably  they  will  never 
be  wholly  subdued  until  the  stock  ranges  give  place  to  dense 
settlements  and  the  constant  plowing  of  the  ground  by  farmers. 

Vegetable  Foes.— In  the  Far  West  there  is  a  kind  of  grass, 
botanically  called  Stipa  spartea,  and  somewhat  resembling 
oats,  and  popularly  known  as  "Weather  grass,"  or  "Needle 
grass."  Caught  in  the  wool  of  the  sheep,  the  beard  is  propelled 
by  the  alternations  of  wet  and  dry,  so  as  to  cause  the  needle- 
like point  at  the  lower  end  of  the  portion,  which  encloses  the 


o56  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

seed,  to  penetrate  the  hide  of  the  animal ;  the  board  breaks  off, 
and  the  needle,  continuing  on  its  course,  i3enetrates  the  vitals 
of  the  animal,  causing  painful  death.  The  harmless  silky 
growth  tending  backward  from  the  needle  acts  as  a  barb  to 
prevent  any  retrograde  movement  of  the  penetrating  needle. 
These  points  also  stick  into  the  nostrils,  nose  and  lips,  and  are 
also  eaten,  and,  going  into  the  stomach,  cause  death.  The  shep- 
herds protect  their  flocks  against  it  by  the  following  method  : 
Selecting  a  tract  on  which  they  wish  to  destroy  the  "Needle 
grass,"  they  make  a  "fire-break"  in  the  spring  by  plowing 
a  number  of  furrows  around  the  tract.  This  preserves  the 
dead  grass  from  the  ordinary  prairie  fires  of  spring ;  then  in 
June,  when  the  needle  grass  is  well  started,  they  fire  this  re- 
served tract,  and  this  destroys  the  needle  gi-ass  for  that  season. 
The  minute  prickles  of  some  species  of  cacti  trouble  sheep  in 
much  the  same  way  ;  they  enter  the  skin  wherever  they  touch 
it  and  penetrate  until  they  reach  some  obstruction — for  instance, 
a  bone,  against  which  they  work  their  way  in  unui  i^ey  lie  flat 
alongside  of  it.  An  ingenious  citizen  of  Texas  has  invented  an 
apparatus  for  burning  off  these  prickles,  which,  it  is  claimed, 
leaves  the  cactus  unharmed,  thus  affording  a  large  amount 
of  excellent  feed  for  sheep  on  the  desert. 

Sheep-Pelts— Mode  of  Tanning.— Sheep  which  die  in  the 
winter,  unless  affected  with  some  such  disease  as  the  rot,  can 
be  skinned  ;  but  in  summer  this  is  not  so  practicable,  unless  the 
carcass  is  found  immediately  after  death.  It  is  -always  best  to 
skin  the  sheep  if  possible  ;  then  the  wool  can  be  pulled  after- 
ward or  sold  with  the  hide,  if  near  a  good  market.  If  the 
market  for  pelts  is  not  good,  the  wool  can  be  loosened  by  a 
thick  sprinkle  of  sharp,  fresh  lime  on  the  flesh  side,  moistened 
with  water  and  left  to  soak  for  about  twenty-four  hours.  But 
this  is  objectionable ;  the  lime  corrodes  the  wool.  To  tan  a 
sheep-skin,  after  the  fat  and  flesh  are  well  cleaned  off,  it  should 
be  put  to  soak  in  a  bath  composed  of  one  pound  of  alum  and  one 
quart  of  salt  (this  is  enough  for  a  medium-sized  skin),  dissolved 
in  sufficient  milk- warm  water  to  cover  the  skin.  Set  it  away  in 
some  warm  place,  tura  the  skin  every  day  for  a  week  ;  then  take 
out  and  wash  in  warm  water,  and  hang  up  to  dry.  When 
partly  dry  rub  and  stretch  it  until  dried  ;  the  more  rubbing  and 
stretching  the  whiter  and  better  the  leather  will  be.  This  will 
tan  a  skin  with  the  wool  on  or  off. 

Ravages  of  Dogs. — I  have  no  statistics  at  hand  but  those  of 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOis^  357 

Ohio,  as  the  Compendium  of  the  Tenth  Census  gives  no  infor- 
mation on  this  subject.  In  1883  the  number  of  dogs  in  Ohio 
was  returned  at  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  eleven  ;  the  value  of  the  sheep  killed  and  injured  by 
them,  veas  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  dcilars.  Therefore,  a  tax  of  one  dollar  on 
each  dog,  if  fully  collected,  would  not  have  reimbursed  this 
loss,  though  it  would  probably  have  sufficed  to  pay  all  the 
actual  claims  for  damages  under  the  existing  law. 

Dogs  always  have  been  and  always  will  be  kept  by  mankind. 
The  only  practical  question  for  legislators  is,  How  to  assess 
upon  and  effectively  collect  from  their  owners,  the  damage 
caused  by  them  ?  A  law  requiring  the  personal  presence  of  the 
sheep-owner  and  one  or  more  of  his  neighbors  as  witnesses,  at 
the  meeting  of  the  commissioners  at  the  county-seat,  is  burden- 
some and  unjust.  These  claims  ought  to  be  relegated  to  the 
local  officers,  and  the  latter  ought  to  be  authorized  to  make 
allowance  for  the  following  items  :  (a)  value  of  animals  killed  ; 
(b)  value  o'f  those  injured  beyond  recovery  ;  (c)  damage  to  ani- 
mals bitten  ;  (d)  full  amount  of  general  injury  to  the  flock  from 
worrying  and  fright,  including  the  estimated  results  in  check- 
ing growth  and  fattening,  and  injury  to  ewes  in  lamb  ;  (e)  value 
of  missing  sheep,  where  the  evidence  that  the  loss  is  caused  by 
dogs  is  as  strong  as  in  most  circumstantial  cases  ;  and  (/)  full 
compensation  for  time  lost  to  the  owner  because  of  the  attack, 
this  to  include  time  used  in  getting  his  scattered  flock  toge.ther, 
finding  missing  and  dead  animals,  presenting  his  evidence, 
working  up  his  case  and  collecting  his  claim.  Therefore,  let 
owners  insist  upon  a  full  and  liberal  appraisal  by  their  neighbors. 

A  Dog-Teap. — When  a  sheep  has  been  killed  a  square  enclos- 
ure of  rails  may  be  built  around  it,  twelve  feet  high,  ten  feet 
square  at  the  bottom,  and  the  sides  sloping  inward  until  an 
opening  is  left  at  the  top  about  five  feet  square.  Any  dog  can 
easily  climb  and  enter  such  a  sloping  pen,  but  not  even  a  grey- 
hound can  get  out.  Poisoning  often  makes  bitter  enmities 
between  neighbors,  but  when  a  dog  is  caught  alive  in  a  trap 
and  his  owner  confronted  with  him,  the  shepherd  has  a  great 
advantage  over  him. 


'•■o^ 


Dog-Guard. — Mr.  James  Wood  gives  the  following  experi- 
ence :  "  Dogs  rarely  do  serious  injury  to  sheep  in  the  day  time. 
The  flock  requires  protection  at  night.  This  can  be  conveniently 
and  securely  afforded  by  enclosures  made  of  wire  netting  fast- 


358  THE   AMERICAN   MERIXO 

ened  to  posts.  Netting  made  of  No.  15  wire  is  so  strong  that 
no  dog  will  tear  it  with  his  teeth,  and,  if  six  feet  high,  no  dog 
will  jump  over  it.  Some  dogs  might  jump  a  fence  of  that 
height,  but  they  will  not  try  the  netting.  The  mesh  may  be 
two  or  three  inches.  Such  netting  is  now  sold  at  a  very  low 
price,  and  the  whole  enclosure  will  cost  but  little.  The  door 
should  be  made  of  the  netting  stretched  upon  a  frame.  It  is 
well  to  nail  a  board  on  the  inside  of  the  posts,  a  foot  from  the 
ground,  to  prevent  the  sheep  pressing  against  the  netting,  and 
bulging  it  so  far  out  as  possibly  to  lift  it  from  the  gi-ound. 

"  For  summer  folds,  the  highest  and  driest  available  grounds 
should  be  selected  as  affording  free  cun-ents  of  air,  because  such 
sites  are  in  every  way  better  for  the  flock.  For  other  seasons, 
these  enclosures  should  be  near  the  barns  or  feeding  sheds.  In- 
deed, there  should  be  sheds  affording  shelter  from  stonns  and 
cold  winds  within  them,  or  forming  the  most  exposed  two  sides 
of  the  enclosures. 

"Of  all  the  domestic  animals,  sheep  are  the  most  easily  folded 
at  night.  They  naturally  seek  some  high  and  dry  resting  place. 
Upon  tiie  Scotch  moor  lands  they  invariably  leave  the  pastures 
upon  which  they  have  spent  the  day,  to  spend  the  night  at  their 
accustoiaed  sleeping  places.  It  is  the  same  everywhere.  If 
they  havfe  free  access  to  the  fold,  it  will  be  found  only  necessary 
to  close  the  Joor  at  night,  for  a:l  the  flock  will  be  there,  quietly 
ruminating.  J*:  is  well  to  tempt  them  with  a  little  grain  at  first, 
and  they  caa  be  regularly  salted  there.  Unless  their  pastures 
are  very  rich  and  abundant,  a  little  grain  through  the  summer 
will  give  a  profitable  return.  If  the  fold  is  not  in  the  range,  it 
is  no  more  trouble  to  bring  in  fifty  or  a  hundred  sheep  than  to 
drive  one  cow  home  to  the  milking.  A  boy  eight  years  old  has 
folded  a  valuable  flock  for  two  years  for  the  writer." 

Training  a  Shepherd  Doq. — The  winter  is  a  good  time  for 
attending  to  this  matter,  for  sheep  are  at  this  season  more  quiet 
and  tractable  than  when  full  of  the  fire  of  summer  on  a  lush 
feed  of  grass,  and  they  will  lend  themselves  more  complacently 
to  the  work  of  breaking  the  pup.  For  it  should  be  well  under- 
stood at  the  outset,  that  it  is  a  very  uphill  piece  of  work  to  at- 
tempt to  break  a  green  dog  on  a  greener  flock.  An  educated 
band  of  sheep  is  almost  as  necessary  to  the  proper  training  of  a 
pup,  as  a  master  of  natural  tact  and  liking  for  tlijs  business. 

This  last  remark  leads  to  the  further  one,  that  only  a  small 
minority  of  flock-masters  are  fitted  by  nature  to  handle  well  a 
dog  already  broken,  and  a  still  smaller  minority  who  can  bring 


FOR   WOOL  AND   MUTTON.  359 

up  a  pup  from  the  start,  and  shape  him  into  an  instrument  of 
good  use.  A  man  who  has  not  this  natural  gift  for  training 
animals  had  betcer  let  the  shef)herd  dog  alone  ;  it  will  prove  a 
nuisance  to  him.  Neither  is  it  worth  while  for  any  one  to 
bother  with  a  shepherd  dog,  unless  he  has  one  or  more  flocks  of 
at  least  a  hundred  head  each.  A  few  sheep  are  harder  to  handle 
with  a  dog  than  maDy. 

My  experience  has  beon  wholly  with  the  English  shepherd, 
or  with  a  cross  between  the  English  and  the  New  Mexican  or 
Spanish  ;  I  never  handled  a  Scotch  Collie.  The  English  dog,  as 
imported  into  Southern  Ohio,  is  slender  in  build — almost  as 
slender  as  a  hound — with  long,  silken,  black  hair,  white  belly 
and  white  tip  to  the  tail.  He  is  an  animal  of  remarkable  sagac- 
ity and  energy,  and  his  native  force  must  be  guided  with  great 
discretion,  or  it  will  develop  into  a  scourge.  The  pup  is  per- 
haps the  most  restless  of  all  animals,  and  one  of  the  first  things 
he  is  likely  to  learn  is,  to  suck  eggs.  He  must  be  broken  of  this 
habit  with  the  utmost  rigor,  or  he  will  have  to  be  shot.  Let 
him  never  see  an  egg  until  he  is  two  months  old  ;  then  take  one 
boiled  hard  and  hot,  put  it  into  his  mouth,  and  hold  his  jaws 
tightly  closed  over  it  until  he  yells  with  pain.  Every  few  days 
try  him  with  another  ;  if  he  shows  the  least  disposition  to 
tackle  it,  repeat  the  above  dose,  or  crush  between  his  jaws  one 
fille  1  with  pepper. 

The  pup  should  have  one  master,  and  only  one  ;  all  the  other 
menibei's  of  the  family  should  be  strictly  forbidden  to  give  him 
orders  or  cultivate  his  affections.  This  applies  especially  to  the 
children  ;  they  will  eventually  make  a  fool  of  any  dog.  He 
sLoald  also  be  restrained  at  all  hazards  from  chasing  rabbits ; 
not  only  preserved  from  the  temptation  as  much  as  possible, 
but  punished  for  the  offense  whenever  he  perpetrates  it.  A  dog 
that  will  break  away  from  his  charge,  or  perhaps  dash  headlong 
through  it,  in  pursuit  of  the  first  cotton-tail  that  jumps  up,  is 
of  no  account  and  might  better  be  killed.  A  dog  of  the  purest 
blood  can  be  perverted  by  the  boys  to  this  wi etched  business,  to 
the  utter  neglect  of  his  own  proper  caUing. 

He  should  be  kept  from  the  sheep  until  he  is  £,  year  old  or 
thereabout.  If  he  is  of  any  value,  he  W7ll  be  so  frisky  at  a 
younger  age  as  to  be  unmanageable.  At  first  the  master  may- 
attach  a  long  hne  to  him  and  teach  him  to  come  to  heel  at  the 
word.  He  must  be  taught  absolute  and  unhesitating  obedience 
at  all  cost :  yet  great  care  must  be  exercised  not  to  whip  him 
too  mucli ;  this  would  break  his  spiiit — make  him  discouraged. 


360  THE   AMERICAI^   MERIXO 

He  must  be  made  to  come  to  heel  at  command,  without  being 
pulled  or  struck  ;  and  this  must  be  done  on  many  days.  Every 
operation  which  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  go  through  at  all  must 
be  repeated  hundreds  of  times  ;  nothing  will  impress  a  command 
on  a  dumb  brut€  like  continued  repetition.  The  most  successful 
trainer  I  ever  saw  would  never  go  up  or  down  the  steps  without 
compelling  his  young  dog  to  follow  him,  even  if  he  had  to  drag 
him  every  one  of  his  fifty  or  a  hundred  trips. 

There  will  be  occasional  times  when  a  shepherd  dog,  even 
when  well  trained,  will  require  a  little  punishment ;  he  must  be 
taught  to  come  to  heel  and  receive  it.  But  he  must  be  made  to 
come  up  a  hundred  times,  to  be  petted  and  rewarded  where  he 
comes  up  once  to  be  whipped,  and  this  leads  to  another  remark. 
The  master  should  always  give  his  orders  in  an  even,  calm 
voice,  devoid  of  passion  ;  then  the  dog  cannot  tell  from  his  tone 
whether  he  is  to  be  scutched  or  not.  The  best  of  dogs  is  greatly 
tempted  to  run  away  when  he  knows  from  the  angry  bellowing 
of  the  master  that  he  is  to  be  chastised.  One  thing  more  :  No 
dog  should  ever  be  allowed  to  go  off  after  a  flogging  until  the 
master  and  he  have  "  made  up."  Some  dogs  are  of  such  a  sul- 
len, unforgiving  disposition  that  they  will  not  make  up.  On 
each  it  is  not  worth  wliile  to  waste  time  any  further ;  they  will 
never  do  any  good. 

At  the  second  stage  of  the  pup's  education,  he  may  be  taken 
into  the  barnyard  with  a  flock,  the  rope  still  around  his  neck, 
and  made  to  go  around  them.  The  master  must  go  around 
himself ;  if  the  pup  does  not  follow  he  must  be  dragged  with 
the  line.  This  must  be  done  scores  of  times.  Then  he  must  be 
made  to  he  down  at  some  place  where  it  is  desired  to  have  him 
stay  to  watch  a  gap,  or  the  master's  coat,  or  something,  while 
the  master  goes  off  to  the  end  of  the  rope.  The  sheep  may  then 
be  crowded  toward  him  a  little,  and  if  he  flinches  he  must  be 
made  to  return  to  his  post,  and  this  over  and  over  again.  Then 
let  him  get  up  and  come  to  heel. 

The  greatest  desideratum,  perhaps,  is  to  have  the  dog  trained 
to  bring  sheep  to  you  ;  and  to  do  this  he  must  be  taught  to  '*  get 
out  wide."  He  must  never,  on  any  account,  be  allowed  to  go 
straight  toward  the  sheep — this  is  one  of  the  most  diflicult 
things  to  prevent — but,  if  he  does  it,  he  must  be  called  back 
and  compelled  to  circle  out  wide.  Sheep  accustomed  to  a  dog 
will  run  straight  to  the  master  if  the  dog  will  give  them  half  a 
chance  to  do  so. 

As  soon  as  he  is  thought  to  be  sufficiently  advanced  to  go 


FOR   WOOL   AXD   MUTTOX.  361 

without  the  rope,  the  master  may  take  him  into  a  small  field 
where  there  is  a  flock  of  gentle  sheep,  and  manoeuvre  to  get  the 
sheep  between  the  dog  and  himself.  Then  he  can  call  and  toll 
them  around  after  him,  compelhng  the  dog  to  follow  up  ;  he 
will  try  to  get  around  the  sheep  and  come  to  his  master,  but  the 
latter  must  so  manage  all  the  while  as  to  keep  the  flock  inter- 
posed between  himself  and  the  pup.  After  a  while  he  will 
learn  to  follow  quietly  along,  bringing  up  the  stragsjlers. 

In  crowding  sheep  into  close  quarters,  a  dog  that  barks  is  far 
better  than  one  that  bites  ;  and,  indeed,  a  dog  disposed  to  the 
latter  course  must  be  restrained  and  punished.  >It  is  sometimes 
a  very  difficult  matter  to  teach  a  young  dog  to  let  the  sheep's 
heels  alone,  and  confine  himself  to  barking.  If  he  is  held  back 
with  a  rope,  and  a  great  noise  and  hurrah  created,  he  will  get 
to  barking  in  his  excitement ;  and,  once  the  ice  is  broken,  the 
way  will  bo  easier  thenceforth. 

The  necessary  words  of  command  are  few  and  simple,  and 
they  should  never  be  varied  :  "  Head  away  ! "  (head  the  flock) ; 
"  Get  out  wide  ! "  (go  around  'em) ;  "  Hold  ! "  (stop) ;  "  Fetch 
'em  up  !"     "  Get  over  ! "  (mount  the  fence),  will  suffice. 

Wool  Waste  and  Scourings  as  a  Fertilizer. — According 
to  experiments  made  at  the  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station,  in 
1884,  wool  waste  (rags,  shoddy,  flocks),  contained  about  eight 
per  cent,  of  organic  nitrogen  ;  other  analyses  give  rather  less. 
Its  value  wiU  of  course  depend  considerably  on  the  character  of 
the  soil.  Experiments  under  charge  of  that  Station  show  that 
wool  waste  alone  did  not  produce  the  same  effect  as  when  used 
in  combination  with  stable  manure,  but  this  result  might  vary 
on  other  soils.  In  another  experiment,  three  loads  of  barn  ma- 
nure, one  ton  of  wool  waste,  and  two  hundred  pounds  of  bone 
black  superphosphate,  proved  more  profitable  than  fifteen  loads 
of  barn  manure. 

An  analysis  at  Rothamsted,  England,  gave  the  following  pro- 
portion in  one  thousand  pounds  of  wool,  unwashed  :  Nitrogen, 
seventy-three  pounds ;  phosphoric  acid,  one  pound ;  potash, 
forty  pounds  ;  lime,  one  pound,  and  magnesia,  seven-tenths  of 
a  pound.  Pure,  washed  wool  has  about  sixteen  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen,  or  more  than  double  the  unwashed.  Washing  re- 
moves most  of  the  potash  which  is  mostly  in  the  "yolk."  One 
hundred  pounds  of  wool  waste,  therefore,  containing  sixteen  or 
seventeen  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  should  be  over  thirty  times  as 
strong  as  one  hundred  pounds  of  fresh  cow  dung. 

As  to  "  wool  sweat"  or  "  suint,"  or  wool  scourings,  it  is  an 


363  THE    AMERICAN   MERINO. 

imperfect  soap,  consisting  chiefly  of  potash,  lime  and  magnesia 
united  to  a  peculiar  animal  oil.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  soap 
of  lime,  insoluble  in  all  other  cases,  is  here  soluble  in  water. 
Professor  S.  L.  Dana  states  that  the  washings  from  wool  annu- 
ally consumed  in  France  are  equal  to  the  manuring  of  three 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  acres  of  land.  Yet  this  sub- 
stance must  be  applied  judiciously  ;  if  scattered  freely  on  the 
ground  in  a  liquid  form  it  has  been  known  to  sheet  over  the  soil 
with  a  crust  impervious  to  air  or  water,  and  so  remain  for  years 
except  where  comminuted  by  the  plow.  In  the  United  States 
Agricultural  Report  for  1870  there  is  a  suggestion  that  these 
scourings  should  be  reduced  by  heat  to  ashes  before  they  are 
applied  to  the  soil. 

It  is  stated  that  in  France  a  process  has  been  discovered 
whereby  a  large  amount  of  potash  and  valuable  lubricatmg  oil 
can  be  extracted  from  wool  sweat,  or  yolk  ;  and  that  this  prom- 
ises to  give  a  very  considerable  value  to  a  by-product  which  has 
heretofore  been  regarded  in  the  United  States  as  an  almost  total 
loss. 

Sundry  Utensils.— Stock  registers,  ear-tabs,  toe-shears,  etc., 
can  be  had  of  the  makers  who  advertise  them,  as  may  shep- 
herds' crooks.  Any  blacksmith  can  make  a  branding-iron 
(when  this  is  wanted,  though  paint  is  better),  of  flat  iron,  five- 
eighths  of  an  inch  wide  and  one-quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  bent 
into  the  required  letter,  with  an  iron  handle  eighteen  inches 
long.  Iron  is  better  than  wood,  as  it  will  permit  the  accumu- 
lating wool,  grease  and  flesh  to  be  burned  off. 


INDEX. 


-•o«- 


Bams,  Houses  and  Appurtenances.  165 
House     for    Breeding     Ewes, 

Smitli's 165 

Cisterns  for  Houses 1 74 

Cisterns,  How  to  Build    .   ...  175 

Doors  and  Gates  in 171 

Dust  Bath  in 123 

Mr.  Frink's  195 

Feed  Racks 172 

Fodder  Ricks..     186 

Grouping  of 169 

Group  of  Three    170 

Barn,  a  General  Purpose 167 

For  a  Small  Flock 169 

Double  Racks  in... 1(3 

Single  Racks  for  Lambs 173 

Table  for  Shearers  177 

Watering  Trouglis  in 175 

Watering  Troughs,  Covered 176 

Wool  Room  in 176 

Burrs  iu  Pastures        127 

Constitution  in  Sheep 48 

Crossing  and  Cross- Breeding 52 

Diseases  of  Sheep  and  Remedies. 

Acarus  scabiei 301 

Actcza  rubra 332 

Albuminiaia .352 

Alimentary  Sy8tem,Diseasesot..328 

Anoemta 341 

Antnrax  Fever :339 

Apoplexy 345 

"Bane" 287 

Baneberry ;i32 

Bleeding  Slieep 279 

Blind  Staggers 294 

Blood  Diseases .3.38 

Bloody  Urine...     338 

Brain,  Inflammatioii  of. 346 

"Braxy" a34 

Bnckeye  ...   332 

Buckeye    and    Laurel,   Symp- 
toms of  Poisoning  by 332 

*'  Buck-fly  Grub  "  .  .2.36 

Buffalo  Gnat ,3.55 

Canker  of  the  Foot .322 

Catarrh .324 

Treatment  of .325 

Cercana 288 

Clioking  3.35 

Clap ;i52 

Constipation 328 

Congh 325 

General  Remarks  on 277 

Diuresis 300 

Dropsy .344 

Dysenteiy ..337 

Enteritis 334 


Diseases  of  Sheep. 

Epilepsy 343 

Eyes,  Sore .355 

Feet,  Diseases  of 316 

Fluke 287 

Fluke,  Eggs  of ,  '^2^7 

Fhike,  Its  Changes 289 

Foot  and  Mouth  Disease 323 

Foot  Rot.  Origin  of .317 

Treatment  of 319 

Foot-bath  for 320 

Treating  Small  Flocks 321 

What  is  it? 318 

Foreign     Substances     in     the 

Stoinach  ..       ..   3-35 

"Fouls"  in  Sheep's  Feet 321 

Fractures 353 

Gad-fly,  Grub  or  Larva  of 298 

Gad  fly  of  Siieep 298 

Garget 349 

Gid 294 

Gid  Hydatid,  History  of 294 

Goi  I  re ;343 

Prevention  of 343 

Granl.. 351 

Grub  in  the  Head 298 

Preventive  of 300 

Symptoms 299 

Treatment 299 

Head,  Parasites  in 345 

Haemorrhoids 3.37 

Hoove 201 

Hoven .331 

Hydrocephalus 344 

Indian  Pea 332 

Inflammation  of  Bowels 334 

Influenza 325 

Insect  Plagues 355 

Interdiirital    Canal,    Inflamma- 
tion of .322 

Laurel ,3.32 

Liver,  Congestion  of 336 

Inflammation  of ,3:^6 

Rot 2S7 

Rot,  Prevention  of 291 

LinncBus  Iruncutulm 288 

Lock-jaw .347 

'•  Loco  Weeds  " 332 

Louse,  Sheep... ,314 

•  •  Lum  l)riz  " 297 

Lung  Parasites 2S0 

Maggots 314 

Mammitis 349 

Miscellaneous 353 

'•Murrain" 3-39 

"Needle-grass" 3.55 

Nervous  System  of. 345 

CEstrus  ovis 293 


(363) 


364 


II^DEX. 


Diseases  of  Sheep. 

OzcEiia 325 

Fai!.y ?A1 

Paperskiu 2«7 

Copperas  for '^84 

Ciilorine  for 2o5 

Hi;;li  Feecliii^r  for 285 

Pumpkin  Seeds  for 285 

Symptoms  of 282 

Paralv-is 346 

Paraplegia 346 

Parasites 287 

Parasites  in  the  Head 345 

Parasritic  Diseases 287 

Parasitic  Paralysis 341 

"Pelt  Rot" 340 

"Pining" 341 

Plethora 340 

PJeurisy 427 

Prevention  of 333 

Pneumonia 326 

Poisonino: 332 

Piiri'atives 2'(9 

Media 288 

••  Pted  Water" 344 

Re:fi)iratory  System. Dis-eascs  of.324 

Retention  "of  FcEt us .  349 

Retention  of  Uiine 350 

Rlietimatism,  Congenital 388 

Rot,  Symptoms  ol 29'' 

St.  Johns  wort 332 

Scab,  Destroying  Inl'ection 311 

Dipping  Appliances 304 

Dips  for 303 

Fences  to  Prevent 310 

"Handling"  for 302 

Insect 301 

In  the  East 312 

Patent  Dips  for 302 

Prevention  ot 311 

Symptoms  of 301 

Scald-foot 321 

Screw-worms 315 

Scrofula 342 

Snail  for  Fluke 288 

Snake  Bites    316 

Stai^gers,  Operation  for 296 

Prevention  of 297 

Stipa  spartea 355 

Strong  ylus  jUana 280 

Stone  in  tlie  Bladder 351 

"Siretclies." 328 

Sore  Eves 353 

Sore  Moutli 334 

Sporadic  Pleuro-pneiimonia 326 

Treatment 327 

Sporocyst 288 

Tape-Worms 291 

Symptoms  and  Cure 292 

Tarweed ^32 

Tetanus....:  347 

Tliomas,  Pmf.  A.  P.,  on  Fluke. 287 

Ticks  and  Lice 312 

Eradicating 313 

Prevention  of 314 

Tympanitis 331 

Urethra,  Stoppage  of .... 351 

Urinary  and    Reproductive  Or- 
gans of 348 


Diseases  of  Sheep. 

Uterus,  Eversion  of 350 

Vegetable  Foes,. 3i;2 

"  Weather  Grass  "  365 

Worms.  Other  Intestinal 293 

Wounds 353 

Dipi)ing,  Boilers  and  Vats  for 309 

Draining  Yards 309 

How  Olieu 310. 

Pens  for  the  Flock 305 

'•Spotting." 309 

Swimming  Vats  and  Pens 307 

The  Process 306 

Thorougimess  Necessary 306 

The  Swimming  Method 307 

The  Vat ' 309 

When  to  Dip 310 

Dogs.  Ravages  of,.. 356 

Trap  for  357 

A  Guard  Against 357 

Training  Suepherds' 358. 

Ewes. 

Acorns.  Injurious  to 161 

Aue  as  Breeders 47-163 


Breeding,  Selecting. 


, . .155 


Breeding,  Points  in  which  the 

Ewe  Prevails 156 

Condition  at  Coupling 157 

Condition,  Maintaining  in 139 

Defective  Teats  in  100 

Discarding.  Causes  for 157 

Drafting.  Best  Time  for 156 

Ergot,  Effects  of 99 

Exercise  of,  Necessity  for 159 

Spurred  Rye.  Effects  of 99 

Feed  for 95 

Feeding  for  Milk 159 

Feeding  Suckling 160 

Gestation.  Period  of 157 

Getting  Cast 164 

Green  Rye  for 99 

Lambing,  Time  of 158 

IMIssing 162 

Recurrence  of 167 

Running  Farrow 157 

"Teasers '"for 100 

Feeding  and  Fodders. 

Alfalfa 66 

Analytical  Tal)les,  Value  of 62 

Feeds,  Correlation  of 63 

Corn.  Sheep  in 138 

Corn-fodder  for  Sheep 204 

Feed 59 

Feeding,  Experiments  in 64 

Grouts.  W.  D 73 

Kirbvs,  W.  G 73 

Sanborn's,  J.  W 73 

Watkins.  O.  M .73 

Feeding,  Merino  Taste  from. . .  75 

' '  Sheepy  Flavor ' "  from 75 

Fodders  for  Sheep 20:}-2St) 

Fodder-corn  for  Sheep 205 

Feed,  a  Perfect 60 

Feeds,  Mixed 63 

Feeds,  Grain 61 

Mineral  Matters  Needed  in —  66 
Prairie  Hay 66 


INDEX. 


365 


Feeding  and  Fodders. 

Red  Clover  for  Sheep 203 

Roots  for  Siieep 62 

Sheep,  Timothy  for 206 

Sheep,  a  Variety  of  Feed  for...  199 

Feeding  for  Mutton 189 

Fleeces. 

Burs,  Thistles,  etc.,  in 39 

Clouded 38-188 

How  to  Fold .-...118 

"Fribs"  in 39 

Mold  in 38 

"Old  Sue's" 156 

Sorts  in  ^0 

Strings  in 38 

Stuffing  of 38 

Unevenness  in 39 

FoKAGE  Plants,  not  Grasses. 

"Alfileria" 71 

"Bur-clover" 1 71 

Erodium  cicutarium 71 

Eurotia  lanata 71 

"  Greasewood  " 71 

Medicago  denticulata 71 

AMone  canesceus 71 

Phaca  Nuttalii 332 

"Pin-clover"  71 

Prosopis  jitlijlora 71 

Fiirshia  tridentata 71 

"Sage  "   71 

Sarcubafits  vermicalat'is 71 

Tri folium  Andersunii. .  71 

"White  Saue" 71 

"  Wiuter  Fat" 71 

Frank,  J.  H.,  Methods  cf  FeL'ding.194 

Full  Blood  and  Thoroughbred 44 

Grades 45 

Gbasses,  Botanical  names  in  Italics. 

A  grostis  vulgaris 70-208 

Aira  ccespitosa 70 

A  tropi-'  teimifolia 70 

Bermuda  grass 221 

"Blue  Joint" 70 

Bouteluua  hirsnta 69 

Bouteloua  otigost'chya 69 

Bucldo   daclyloides 69 

"  Buflalo  Grass  "  69 

"  Bunch-grass  " 69 

"  Bro  m-grass"    69 

Calamagrostis  Canadensis 70 

Dadylis  glomerata    ..   207 

Eriocoma  cuspidata 70 

"  False  Red-top  "  69 

Festuca  occidentalis 70 

Festuca  ovina 70 

Festi.'ca  scabrella 70 

"  Foxtail-grass  " 70 

"Gallolte" 70 

"Gallcta" 70 

"  Grama  grass  " 69 

*'June" 68-208 

Eilaria  rigida  70 

Hordeum  murinum ,  70 

"  Hungarian  Grass  " 207 


Grasses. 

Grass,  Meadow    208 

Manisurh  granulaiis 220 

Mesquite  gratis.  ...  ...  71 

Muhienberyia  g/adllima 71 

Munioa  sq  uun  osa (i9 

laidcum  Germaiucum 207 

Pua  aJ.pma 69 

loa  annua 69 

Poa  cmijyressa 69 

Poa  pralensis 69 

Poa  serotina 69 

Poa  teiinifo  ia 69 

Red-top  I  or  Sheep 70-208 

"Sage-grass  " 69 

"Sand  grass" 70 

Slieeps  Fescue 70 

"Simu-i;ras!^" 220 

Sporobolus  airoides 70 

"  Squirrel-i:rass  " 70 

Slipa  comala 69 

St /pa  occidentalis 69 

'•  \  ining  Mc^sq-ute  " 69 

"Wire  Grass'-...  _. 69 

Hoofs,  Clipping  .105 

Hook,  Making  a 57 

Lambing. 

Artificial  Nipples 92 

Assisted  Labor  in 88 

Chilled  Lambs 90 

Corps',  Geo  S,  System 91 

Creeps,  for  Lambs 93 

In  the  Field 97 

Fixtures  and  Pn  paraiions  for  .  57 

Foster  Mothers 89 

General  Management  in 88 

Milk.  Excess  of 95 

Panels  for  Pens  at  87 

Os  Uteri,  Schirrous  88 

Sheep  Hook,  its  Uses  in 85 

Lambs. 

Acorns  for 140 

Castration  of •. 107 

Cholera  in 93 

Cholera  Preventives 94 

Cossets ..  91 

Cows"  Milk,  Feeding  with 93 

Dockinj 107 

Fall  Feed  for...   140 

Fall  and  Winter 163 

Foulinir  of 93 

Goitre  in. 98 

In  May 159 

Pumpkins  lor 141 

Re-dockin-  of 103 

StiffNeckin 101 

Tagging 104-135 

Tail,  Burning  oflf  of 103 

Turnips  for 141 

Twins... 101 

Weaning 134 

Winter  Care  of 179 

Letter  of  Prepentation 8 

Lc  tter  of  Request ,     7 

Maggots •; .  .131 


366 


INDEX. 


Mebinos. 

Adams',  Seth,  Importation —  11 

Aj^uirre 14 

American  Merinos 18 

Atwoocrs,  Steplien,  Pmcliase.,  15 

"Bascoin."  Fleece  of 20 

BoalTs,  Victor,  Delaine  Merinos  21 

Black-top  Merinos 26 

'•Buclieye,'"  Heaviest  Fleece..  20 
Correlation     of     Carcass     and 

Fleece 22 

Dana's.  Geori^e,  Flock 20 

Delaine  Merinos 25 

Emharsro,  EflF<'Ct  of 15 

English  anti  Merino  Cross 53 

"  Escurials"   14 

Etymology  of  Merino 11 

Fearinir.  Paul,   and  B.  F.  Gil- 
man's  Flock 20 

Fleece,  Weight  of 19 

Feeders.  Merinos  as 159 

French  Merinos..  ,     .279 

Gundalonpe  Merinos 14 

Davis',  Col.  Humphrey,  Impor- 
tation  11 

Hammond,  Edwin,  His  Flock.     17 

Hammond's  Merinos 18 

"Infantados" 14 

Jarvis',  Wm,,  Importation 15 

Kelly,  Daniel.  His  Flock 21 

"Little  Wrinkly" 17 

"Long  Wool" 18 

Mather,  Increase,  His  Flock...  20 

Merino  Muttxm 189 

National  Improved  Saxony  —  36 

Ne2;retiis 14 

"Old  Black" IT 

"Old  Greasy" H 

"Old  Wrinkly" IT 

"Patrick  Henry,"  Fleece  of...  20 

Paijlars 14 

Putnam's,  Israel,  Flock 20 

Qiiinn.  J.  B.,  His  Merinos IT 

Race  Type 24 

"Rambouillet"  Merinos 30 

Rich's.  Charles,  Flock 16 

Southdown  and  Merino  Cross..  52 

Stone's,  Col.  John,  Flocks 20 

Sweepstakes ■  17 

Wiisliington  Co.,  Pa.,  Flocks...  21 

Wrinkles 56 

"Wooster" IT 

"  Young  Matchless  " 17 

Mutton,  A  Leg  of 129 

Mui  ton,  Daniel  Webster  on 130 

Mutton.  Braxy  flavor  in  130 

Mutton  Merino 72 

Orchards,  Sheep  in 138 

Prepotency 50 

Bams. 

Blinders  for 150 

"  Capt.  Jack  " 149 

Constitution  of 342 

Feeding  of 151 

Fighting,  to  Prevent  in 148 

Management  of  Cross    152 

Management  of  Service 151 


Ratns. 

'•  Thft  Ram  More  than  Half  the 

Flock" 45 

One  or  More 153 

"  Patrick  Henry" 146 

Points  of  a  Good 144 

Selection  and  Care  of 142 

'•  Silver  Horn  " 142 

Summer  Management  of 147 

Tarring 148 

Tying  a 150 

Winter  Treatment  of 153 

Shearing  Cards 176 

Sheep. 

Blacking  the  Fleece  of 154 

Blanketing 155 

"  Breeder's  Fancy  "in 49 

Breeding  Flock 155 

Choose  with  Fewest  Defects. . .  49 

Cleanliness?,  Importance  of  99 

ConJition,MaintaininganEvenl39 

Condition,  Good 123 

Corn  for 138 

Com  Fodder  for 184 

Depasturing  Wheat  with 201 

Dustbatli  for 133 

Feeder,  Methods  of  a  Noted. .  .194 
Feeding,  Manner  and  Material. 192 

Feed  Troughs  for 180 

From  Grass  to  Hay 138 

From  Hay  to  Grass 200 

GadHvon  1^3 

Good  Growth .123 

Grain  Feed  at  Night 180 

Grain,  Necessity  Tor 188 

Housing,  the  Gain  of  182 

In-Breeding 55 

Losing  Wool 157 

Maggots  In 131 

Marking 117 

Manure,  Making  and  Saving.     1S5 

Mutton.  Feedini:  for 189 

Mutton,  When  to  Feed  for 191 

Opposites  to  be  Mated  ..:....  144 

Orchards,  In KiS 

Overfeeding  of        137 

Pampering  and  over-feeding. . .  136 

Pasture  in  tlie  West 67 

Pedigree 44 

Pelts,  Tanning  of 356 

Quiet,  Importance  of 199 

Sales.  Mutton,  of  at  Chicago....  24 

Salting  of  1:33 

Scavengers.  As 125 

Season,  At  the  End  of 141 

Shearing 115 

Shearing.  Sorting  at 117 

Shearing.  Speed  in 122 

Shelters,  Temporary 181 

Snow  Eaters 1S8 

Soiling 139 

Sorting  for  Winter 181 

Stables,  Cleaning  out 185 

"  Stubbling."  Blacking,  etc. . .  154 
Summer  Housing  and  Feeding.l35 

Summer  Management  of 125 

Ticks  on 181 


IXDEX. 


367 


Shcpn. 

To  an  Acre.  Number 127 

Water  lor,  Necessity  of        128 

Washing,  A.  F.  Bieckenridge's 

Record 108 

Wasliing.  Loss  from 109 

Washing.  Modt-s  of 113 

Washing.  Policy  of 105 

Washing.  Shearing  without  ...112 

Winter  .Management  of 177 

Working  off  the  Culls 12S 

Yarding  Iq  Winier 177 

Sheep  Husbandry,  Systems  of  : 

Arizona,  In 383 

General  Management 238 

Atlantic  Slope.  On 209 

AUie'  J.  F.C..  Management.... 210 

Early  Lambs 209 

Afanure.  Value  of .   .  .210 

Roots,  Feeding  of. 211 

California,  In 234 

Alfalfa,  Sheep  on 243 

Breeding  Flocks  and  Ewes 238 

Characteristics    of     California 

Sheep 231 

"Dodge  Gate,"  The,  in 245 

Flock,  A  Sample 247 

General  ManaLremeut 237 

Hav  in  California 248 

History  of.  in 234 

Herder,  His  Life  in  ...248 

Losses  of  Sheep  in 247 

Mutton  Sheep  in  California 240 

Pastnres,  Effect  of  Sheep  on  ...241 

Vinevards.  Sheep  in 245 

Shearint;  in 238 

Sitrra  Nevada.  Sheep  in 247 

Wheat  Farms,Effect  of  Sheep  OJ.241 

Wool.  Grades  of     239 

Preparinir  for  Sliipping..    246 

Produceof 234 

Cololrado,  In...   271 

"Alfalfa  Mutton"  in 272 

Bands,  Division  of  Sheep  into. 272 

Corrals  in 273 

Grasses  in 277 

Increase  from  Irrigation 272 

Snow  Storms  in  273 

Summer  Management 272 

Dakota.  In 263 

Alfalfa  in 263 

Alkaii  in 263 

General  Management  in 263 

Mi  Ik-weed.  Poisonou* 2ft4 

Ranges,  Fenced  and  Open 264 

Idaho,  In 2.58 

Flocks,  Size  of 2.58 

Grasses  and  Herhnire 258 

Hay  Cut  from  "  Claims  " 2.58 

Lambing 2.5S 

Losses.  Annnal 2.58 

Merino  Blood  Predominant. . .  258 

Mutton,  Small  Demand 259 

Snows,  Early  and  Late 258 

Wheat  in  Dougli,Cut  lor  Wiuter.25S 


Kansas,  In,  See  Prairie  Regions 214 

Montana,  In 259 

Bunch  Grasses 260 

••  Chinook."  The,  in 259 

Diseases  in 260 

Grasses  in   .259 

Wi  n ter.  Hav  for 262 

Winter.  Sii-.Mter  in 262 

Wool,  Clip  011885     2.5S^ 

Wool,  Preparing  for  Market  . . .  260 

Ncbia-k:i.  In 264 

••Blizzards"  in 267 

Elements,  Dangers  from  the..  .267 

Feedin^  in  Winter  'iliS 

Scab  in 'Md 

Water  in  Winter , "269 

Wind-Breaks 257 

Nevada.  In 249 

Drives  of  Sheep,  Their  Effects.  .249 

Lambing  in ^250 

Mutton  in 256 

Scab  in 251 

Shearing  in 250 

Systems  of  Management 249 

Wool  in 250 

New  Mexico.  In 

Breeding  for  Hardiness  in 2.31 

Losses  of  Sheep  iu 231 

Pasturaire  and  Forage 231 

Sheep  Drives 232 

Taken  on  Shares 233 

Oregon,  Iu     25i 

Alkali,  Effects  of,  on  Fibre 2,53 

Beasts  of  Prey  in   255 

Conditions  and  Modes  in 252 

"Ciiinook,"  Sheep  iu  the 257 

"  Dead  Tip  "in 2.54 

Long- wooied  Sheep  in 2.52 

Losses,  Average  Annual 250 

Merinos,  Introduction  of 2.51 

Prairie  Regions.  In  the 214 

Bad  Mana<remenf  in 214 

'•  Buck  Rake,"  Use  of ..-217 

Foot  Rot  in •>i6 

Genera!  Management  iu 217 

"Go Devil,"  Use  of 217 

Grasses,  Beard  or  Broom  216 

Grasses,  Natural...     216 

'•Mutton  Corn" 216 

Prairie  Hay 216 

Sorghum  Fodd'T 216 

"  Stalk  Pastures  " 215 

Wool  in 215 

Wool,  Prices  of 215 

Southern  States,  In 218 

Bermuda  Grass  in 221 

Cotton  Seed  for  Sheep -220 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Its 

Queries 221 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Re- 

ttnns  Tabulated 233 

'•Guinea  Grass"  iu 226 

"Japan  Clover  "in 219 

"Japan  Clover,"  Dr.Phares  on. 221 

Lambinir  in. 2"26 

Lespedeza  striata 219 

Liatris  odoratiseima 220 


368 


INDEX. 


Soutliern  States,  In. 

Manisuris  gramdaris-. 221 

"  Smnt-urase  " 220 

Sorghum  Halepeme 220 

Peters',  Ricliard,  Experience... 21 '.> 
"Vanilla  Plant"  fur  Slieep...  .220 
Watts'.  Col.  J.  W., Experience. 218 
Wool,  Washinsr  of 220 

Submontane  Rei^ion,  In  the  212 

Extent  of... 212 

Flocks,  The  size  of 213 

Feedin 214 

Wool  Rather  than  Mutton. . .   .207 

Texas,  In 222 

"Chonrros,"  The 223 

'-> Coiral,"  The 224 

Fencing  in 224 

Fl(X;k,  A  San^ple  230 

General  Manai;ement  in 2-M 

Henlini^in 224 

Kendall,  G.  W.,  His  Farm 222 

Lambing  ii> 22.5 

•'  Mui Ions."  Feeding  of 229 

Pastura^^e  in 226 

Ran^ein 223 

Shearing? 223 

Shearinir,  Semi-annual 235 

Sheep,  Texan 227 

Winter  Ranges 225 

Utah,  In 274 

Clip  in  1879 274 

Losses,  Sources  of 2tc> 

Losses  in  Winter  of  1879-80. . .  .274 

Merinos,  Introduction  of 274 

Poisonous  Plants  in 275 

Washin2fton  Territory,  In 257 

"  Chinook,"  Slieej)  in  the 257 

CatMen>en  vs.  Sheep 257 

Grasses  in 257 

Lambini,',  Time  for 257 

Scab  in 257 

Shearinir  in 257 

Winter  Management  in 257 

Wyoming,  In 269 

Government  Report  on 270 

Laramie  City  a  Wool  Center. .  .270 

Dipping  Tanks  at 270 

Shearing  Pens  at 270 

Tenser 163 

Teeks... ••  —  ^ ^31 


Teeth  Indicating  Age  .129 

Variation 51 

Wethers,  Tagging 105 

Wheat,  Affects  of  Depasturing 203 


Wool*, 


Analysis  of 361 

And  Yolk.  Correlation  of 146 

Australian     83 

Authors  Experience  in 84 

Black-Top  and  Clots  in 36 

Brashy 123 

California  Grades 239 

Cotting  of ; 35 

"The  Crimp" ' 28 

Dead  Tip  in 22 

Fiber.  Effect  of  Cimate  on. . . .  33 
Effect  of  High  Feeding  on.. .  33 

Length  and  Density  of 35 

Structure  of 27 

Grades  in 31-123 

Whence  the  Grades  Come... .  32 

Gray  Shoulder  Ciot  in 36 

How  Planted ...     29 

•'Jar"  in 37 

Jointed 37 

"Kemp"  in...     :^7 

Length  and  Diameter  of 28 

Manufactures 82 

Prairie 215 

jSlontana,  Packing  in 201 

Preparation  for  Shipping 246 

Press 119 

Prices  in  Boston  tor  Seventeen 

Years 42 

Price  Compared  with  Cotton...  43 

Production  of 41 

Product  of  the  United  States...  80 

Quarter  Blood 124 

Room)  in  Sheep  House 176 

Round  and  Flat 28 

Slicking  and  Transportation...  124 

Sectional  Prices  of 40 

Scourings,  As  Fertilizers 361 

Shearing,  Cards  for 176 

Strength  of  Dry  and  Yolky 35 

Sunman's,  T.  W.  W.  Flock.. ..  83 

Waste 361 

Where  to  Sell 122 

.121 
146 


Wool,  Storing 

Yolk  and  Wool,  Correlation  of. 


Alphabetical  Catalogue 


M  — •:• 


0.  Judd  Co.,  David  W.  Judd,  Prest 


1  ^^^^^j 


^*»t   \   '    .<»  PUBLISHERS  AND  IMPORTERS  OF  ^^^-^^    y, 


All  Works  pertaining  to  Rural  Life. 


'T'Sl  Bxoad.T^a.3r,  3^e-r77-  "S'orls. 


2  0.    JUDD   CO.'S  ALPHABETICAL  CATALOGUE. 


Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Etc. 


FJLR3I   A1^I>   «AKI>Eiir. 


Allen,  R.  L.  and  L.  F.    New  American  Farm  Book $ 

Ame/ican  Farmer's  Hand  Book 

Asparagus  Culture.    Fiex.ciutii 

Bamford,C.  E.     SilkCulture.    Paper 

Barry     P.     The  Fruit  Garden.     New  ami  Revised  Edition 

Bommer.    Method  of  Making  Manures  

Brackett.    Farm  Talk.     Paper  50c,     Cloth 

Brill.    Farm-Gardening  and  Seed-Growing 

Cauliflowers 

Broom-Corn  and  Brooms.    Paper 

Curtis  on  Wheat  Culture.    Paper 

Emerson  and   Flint.    Manual  of  Agriculture 


Farm  Conveniences 

Farming  for  Boys •  

Farming  for  Profit 

FitZ.    Swi-et  Potato  Culture.    New  and  Enlarged  Edition.    Cloth, 

Flax  Culture.    P^iper 

French .     Farm  Drainage 

Fuller,  A.  S.    Pi actical  Forestry 

Gregory. 


On  Cabbages 

On  Carrots,  Mangold  Wurtzels,  etc. 

On  Fi'itilizers 

On  Onion  Raising.... 

On  Squashes 


2.50 
2,50 
.50 
.30 
2.00 
.25 
.75 
1.00 
.20 
.50 
,50 
1.50 
1..50 
1.25 
3.75 
,60 
.30 
1.50 
1.50 
.30 
,30 
.40 
.30 
..30 


O.  JUDD  CO.'S  ALPHABETICAL  CATALOGUE.      3 

Harlan.    Farmin^witli  Green  Manures 1.00 

Harris,    insects  injurious  to  Vegetation.    Plain  $4.  Col'd  Engravino:a.  6  50 

Harris,  Joseph.     Gardeninir  for  Young  and  Old 1,25 

Talks  on  Manures.  "New  and  Revised  Edition...  1.75 

Henderson,  Peter.    oardcniugforPieMsuro i.so 

Gardening  for  Profit.    New  and  Enlarged.  Edition.    2.00 

Garden  and  Farm  Topics 1.50 

Henderson   &  CrOZier.     How  the  Farm  Pays 2.50 

Hop  Culture.     New  and  Revised  Edition.     Paper 30 

Illustrated  Dictionary  of  Gardening.    Vols,  i  &  ii,  eacii    soo 

Johnston.     A,i;ri(;nliiiral  Chemistry 1.T5 

Johnson,  M.  W.    How  to  Pl.mt.    Paper 50 

Johnson,   Prof.  S.  W.     How  Crops  Feed  2.00 

•  How  Crops  Grow 2.00 

Jones,  B.  W.     The  Peanut  Plant.    Paper .50 

Lawn  Planting.    Paper 25 

Leiand.     Farm  Homes,  In-Doors.  and  Om-Doors.     New  Edition 1.50 

Long,   Elias  A.     Orn;:mentah  Gardening  for  Americans 2.00 

Morton.     Far  i.er"s  Calendar 5.00 

Nichols.     Chemistry  of  Farm  and  Sea 1.25 

Norton.     Elements  of  Sciemitie  ALrricnlture 75 

Oemler.     Trnck-Farmin<:at  tlie  Sontli 1.50 

Onions.     How  to  Raise  them  Prolitably 20 

Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres.    Papir .30 

Pabor,  E.    Colorado  as  an  Agricultural  S;ate 1.50 

Pedder.     Land  Measurer  tor  Farmers.     Cloth 60 

Plant  Life  on  the  Farm  100 

Quinn.     Money  in  the  Garden 1,.50 

Riley.     Potato  Pi-sts.     Paper .50 

Robinson.    Fans  for  Farmers 5.00 

Roe.     Play  and  Profit  in  my  Garden 150 

Roosevelt.     Five  Acres  Too  ^Inch 1.50 

Silos  and   Ensilage-     New  an«l  Enlarged  Edliion 50 

Starr.    Farm  Echoes 1.00 

Stewart,    irrigation  for  the  Farm,  Garden  and  Orchard 1.50 

Ten  Acres  Enough i.<»o 

The  Soil  of  the  Farm 100 

Thomas.    Farm  Implements  and  Machinery 1.50 

Tim  Bunker  Papers;  or,  Yankee  Farming i.50 

Tobacco  Culture.    Paper 25 

Treat,    injurious  insects  of  the  Farm  and  Garden 2.00 

VilleS.     Scliool  of  Chemical  Maunres   ; 1.25 

Hii;h  Farming  wiihont  Manures 25 

Arlificial  Manures 6.00 

Waring.    Book  of  the  Farm ..        , 2.00 

Draining  for  Profi.t  and  Health 1.50 

Elements  c.  Agriculture 1.00 

Farmers"  Vacation 3.00 

Sanitary  Drainage  of  Houses  and  Towns 2.0i 

Sanitary  Condition  in  City  and  Country  Dwellings 50 

Warington.    Chemistry  of  the  Farm 1.00 

White.  Qar<i«aifl^ for tiie §9utb 2.00 


0.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


FRUITS,    FI.O%TKR§i,    ETC. 

American  Rose  Culturist so 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Plants its 

Bailey.    Field  Notes  on  Apple  Culture 75 

BouSSingault.     Rmal  Economy   l.GO 

Chorlton.     Giai)e-Gio\vor's  Guide 75 

Collier,   Peter,     yornimin,  iit- Cultmeand  Mamiracturc 3.')() 

Common  Sea  Weeds.    Boards so 

Downing.     Fruits  aud  Fruit  Trees  of  America.    New  Edition ...     5.00 

Rural  Ess^avs 3.00 

Elliott.     Hand  Boole  lor  Fniii-Growers.     Paper  60o.     Cl(«ih 1.00 

Every  Woman  her  own  Flower  Gardener lOo 

Fern  Book  for  Everybody 50 

Fuller,  A.  S.     Grape  CuUurlst 1.50 

Illustrated  Strawberry  Ciiltuiist 

femall  Fruit  Culiiirist.    New  Ediiion 1.50 

Fulton.    Peach  Culture.     New  and  Revised  Edition  1.50 

Heinrich.     Window  Flower  Garden 

Henderson,   Peter.     Hand  Book  or  Plants 3.00 

-  Practical  Floriculture 1.50 

Hibberd,  Shirley.     The  AuiateurV  Flower  Garden   2.50 

Tiie  Aniiiteur's  Greenhouse  and  Conservatory.     2  50 

The  Amateur's  Rose  Book 2.50 

HoopeS.     Book  of  Evergreens 3.00 

Husmann, Prof. Ceo.  American  Grape jrrowin<r and  VVMneMakiiis,'  1.50 

Johnson.     Winter  Greeneries  at  Home l.CO 

I^OOre,   Rev.  J.  W.     Oran.:e  Culture 1.00 

IVSy  Vineyard  at  Lakeview 125 

Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants 175 

Parsons.     On  Ihu  Rose   1.50 

Quinn.     Pear  Culture  lor  Profit.    New  and  Revised  Ediiion 1.00 

Rivers.     Miniature  Fruit  Garden 1.00 

Rixford.     Wine  Press  and  cellar 1.50 

Robinson.    Ferns  in  their  Homes  and  Ours 1.50 

Roe.     Success  with  Small  Fruits 2.50 

Saunders,     insects  injurious  to  Fruits 3  00 

Sheehan,  JaS.     YonrPlants.     Paper 40 

Stewart.     Sorgh-MH  and  Its  Products 1.50 

Thomas.    American  Fruit  Culturist 2.00 

Vick.     Flower  and  Vej?etable  Garden.    Cloth..         1.00 

Warder.     Hedges  and  Everj^reens 1.50 

Webb,  JaS.    Cape  Cod  Cr.mherries.     Paper 40 

White.    Cranberry  Culture 1-25 

Williams^   B.  S.     Orcliid  Grower's  Manual ;  G.50 

Wood     Samuel.    Modern  Window  Gardening ;  1.25 


O.    JUDD   CO.'S  ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


Cattle,  Dogs,  Horses,  Sheep,  Swine,  Poultry,  Etc. 


CATTI.E,    SHEEP,   A.^D    SIVI.^'E. 

Allen,  L.  F.    American  Cattle.    Now  and  Revised  Edition 2.50 

Armatage,  Prof.  Ceo.    Every  Man  His  Own  Cattle  Doctor.    8vo..  7.50 

Armsby.     Manual  of  Catrle  Feeding? 2.50 

Cattle.     Tlie  Varieties,  Biveniiisr,  and  Mana<j:ement 7o 

Coburn,  F.  D.     Swine  Husbandry.    Now  and  Revised  Edition 1.7.5 

Ciok.     Diseases  of  Sheep 1_2.5 

Dadd,   Prof.  Ceo.   H.     American  Cattle  Doctor.     12nio 1.50 

American  Cattle  Doctor.    8vo     Cloth 2.50 

Fleming.    Veterinary  Obstetrics 6.00 

Cuenon.     OnMilcliCows  1.00 

Harris,  Joseph.    OnthePig i  so 

Jennings.     OnCattle  and  their  Diseases .  1.25 

On  Sheep,  Swine,  and  Poultry, 1.25 

Jersey,  Alderney,  and  Cuernsey  Cow 1.50 

Keeping  One  Cow 1.00 

Macdonald.     Food  from  the  Far  West I.50 

McClure.    Diseases  of  the  American  Horse,  Cattle,  and  Sheep 2.00 

McCombie,  Wm.    Cattle  and  Cattle  Breeders , 1.50 

Martin,  R.  B.     Hoi^-Raising  and  Pork-Making 40 

Miles.    Stock  Breeding.... 1.50 

Powers,  Stephen.    The  American  Merino  for  Wool  and  Mutton, 

A  practic  U  and  valuable  work. . I.75 

Quincy,  Hon.  Josiah.    On  Soiiini,' Cattle 1.25 

Randall.    Fine  WooI  Sheep  Husbandry. 1.00 

Practical  Shei)lierd 2.00 

Sheep  Husbandry.  j.50 


6 


0.    JUDD   CO.'S  ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGrjE. 


ReaSOr.    OntheHoj: 1.50 

Sidney.    OuMioPi- so 

Shepherd,   Major  W.    Pmirie  Espcricncu  in  Handling  Cattle...     1.00 
Stewart    Henry.     Stiophenr*  Manual.  New  and EnUirijed  EUiUo:!..     150 

Stewart,   E.  W.    Feedinu Animals 2.00 

The  Sheep,    its  Varieties  and  Management.    Boards T5 

Youatt  and  Martin.   ontheHog lOO 

Youatt.    OuSheep.... 100 


I>OGS,    ETC. 

Burgess.     American  Kennd  and  Sporting  Field.    8vo  

Dog— The  Varieties  and  Management 

Dogs  of  Great  Britain,  America,  and  Other  Coun- 
tries, Compiled  ironi  Stonelienge  and  other  Standard  Writers.  The 
most  Complete  Work  ever  Publisheii  on  the  Dog.     12mo  

Forester,  F.    The  Dog,  by  Dinks,  Mayhew,  and  Hutchinson.    Svo  ... 


Floyd,  Wm.     Hints  on  Dog  Breaking.     12mo 

HallOCk,  C.    Dog  Fanciers' Directory  and  Medical  Guide.    18ino. 

Hammond,  S.    DogTraining.     12mo 

Hil!     Jo  W.    Management  and  Diseases  of  the  Dog.     12ino 

Hooper,  J.  J.     Dog  and  Gun.     Paper 

Hutchinson,  G.  N.    Dog  Breaking.    Svo 

IdStOne.     Tlie  Dog.     Illustrated.     12ino 

Laverack,  E.    ThcSetter.    4to 

Mayhew,  E.    Dogs  ;  Their  Manaiicmcnt.    16mo 

Points  for  Judging   Different  Varieties  of  Dogs. 

Paj)cr    

Richardson.     Dogs;  Their  Origin  and  Varieties.     Papr30c.     Clotb 

Shaw,  T.  VerO.     Illustrated  Book  of  the  Dog.    4to 

Stables,  Gordon.     Our  Friend  the  Dog.    Svo 

Practical  Kennel  Guide 

Ladies' Dogs  as  Companions 

Stonehenge.     The  Dog  in  Health  and  Disease.    Svo. .   

Dogs  of  the  British  Islands.    Svo 

■  The  Greyhound 

Youatt.     Ou  the  Dog.    Svo 


3.00 
.50 


2.00 
3.00 

.50 

.25 
1.00 
2.00 

.30 
3.00 
1.25 
3.00 

.75 


.50 
.CO 
8.00 
3.00 
1.50 
2.00 
3.00 
6.0O 
5.50 
2.50 


O.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


IIOR«m:S,   RII>i:VO,   ETC. 

Anderson,   E.  L.    Modem  Horsemansliip.    8vo    7.00 

•          Tlie  Gallop.    4t<>.    Paper 1.00 

Armatage,  Ceo.    Every  Man  His  Own  Horse  Doctor,  logellier  with 

Blaiue"?  Veieiiiiary  Art.     8vo.  ^  morocco 7.50 

Armatage.  Ceo.     Horse  Owner  and  Stableman's  Companioii.   12mo  1.50 
Battersby,  Col.  J.  C,     The  Bridie  Bits.    A  valuable  Utile  work 

on  lioijeinans'liip.    Fully  illustrated.     12mo 1.00 

Baucher,  F.    New  Method  of  Horsemansliip.    12ino 1.00 

Bruce.     Stud-Book.     4vols .35.00 

Chawner,  R.     Dl^^eases  of  the  Horse  and  How  to  Treat  Tliem.     12mo  1.-5 

Chester.     Complete  Trotting  and  Pacing  Record  10.00 

Dadd,  C.   H.     American  Eelormed  Horse  Book.    8vo 2.50 

Modern  Horse  Doctor.    12mo ].,50 

Day,  W.    The  Race  Horse  in 'J'rainin<r.    8vo (;.2o 

Du   Hays,  C.     Percheron  Horse.     New  and  Revised  Edition.     12mo..  1.00 

Dtirant.    Horseback  Ridinir I.05 

Famous  Horses  of  America,    cioih.   4to i.so 

Cleason,  O.   R.     How  to  Handle  and  Edncale  vicious  Horses 1.00 

Coing,  J.  A.     Veterinary  Dictionary.     12aio 2.00 

Herbert,   H.  W.     Hints  to  Horse  Keei)ers.     12mo l.T.j 

Helm,   H.  T.     American  Roadsters  and  Trotliuir  Horses.    Svo 5.00 

Horse,  The;   its  VarletlL-s  and  Mana<;einent.     Boards 75 

Howden,   P.     How  to  Buy  and  Sell  tlie  Horse.     12ino 1.00 

Jennings,   R.     Horse  Training  Made  Eisy.     16  no I.05 

The  Horse  and  His  Diseases.     12ino 1.25 

Law,   J.     Veterinary  Adviser.     Svo 3.00 

Liautard.     Chart  of  Age  of  Domestic  Animals 50 

Animal  Castration.     12nio 2.00 

Manning.     The  illustrated  stock  Doctor 5.00 

May  hew,   E.     illustrated  Horse  Mana^'ement.    Svo 3.00 

"  Horse  Doctor,     8vo 3.00 

McClure,   R.    Diseases  of  American  Horses.     12nio  2.00 

American  Gentleman's  Stable  Guide.     12mo 1.00 

Miles,  W.     On  the  Horse's  Foot.     12'.no 

Rarey.     Horse  Tamer  and  Farrier.     16mo 50 


8              O.    JUDD    CO.  S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 
Riding  and  Driving 20 

Riley,   H.     Ou  the  Mule.     12ino 1.50 

Russell.     Sciciuific  Horse-SUoeiiij,' 1.00 

Saddle  Horsei  The.     Complete  Guido  to  Riding  aiul  Training 1.00 

Saunders.     Horse  Bl•eodiu;,^     12nio 2.00 

Stewart,   R.     American  Furmcr's  Hoi-se  Book.    8vo 3  00 

Stonehenge.    Every  Hurse  Owner's  Cyclopaedia.    8vo 3.75 

Ou  U»e  Horse  in  tlie  Stable  and  the  Field.     En-lish  ' 

Edition.    Svo 3.50 

Ou  the  Uorse  in  tlie  Stable  and  tlie  Field.    American 

Edition.     12ino 2.00 

Teller,    Diseases  of  Live  Stoclc.    C[oili.  2.50;  Slieep 3.00 

Wallace.     American  Stml  Book.    Per  vol 10.00 

Williams.     Veterinary  Medicine 5.00 

Veterinary  Sar<;ery 7.50 

Woodruff".    The  Trotting  Horse  in  Am.  rica.     Vlmo 2.50 

Woods,   Rev.  J.  C.     Horse  and  Man 2.50 

Youatt  «fc  Skinner.     The  Horse.    Svo 1.75 

Youatt  &  Spooner.     "      "        i^mo 1.50 


-•o*- 


POULTRY   AI>I>    1I1:ES. 

Burnham.    New  Ponltry  Book 1.50 

Cook,   Prof.  A.  J.     Bee-Keeper's  Gnide  or  Manual  of  the  Apiary 1.25 

Cooper,   Dr.  J.  W.     Game  Fowls 5.00 

Corbett.     Poultry  Y.ad  and  Market.    Paper 50 

Felch,   I.   K.     Ponltry  Cnltnre 1.50 

HalSted.     Artilicial  incubation  and  incubators.     Paper 75 

Johnson,  C.   M.  S.     Practical  Poultry  Keeper.     Paper .50 

King.    Bee-Keeper's  Text  Book. 1.00 

LangStrOth.     Ou  the  Honey  and  Hive  Bee 2.00 

Poultry.    Breeding,  Rearing,  Feeding  etc.    Boards 50 

Profits   in   Poultry  and  their  Profitable  Manage- 
ment.    Most  complete  Work  esf.iiit 1.00 

Quinby.     Mysteries  ofBee-Keeping  Explained  (Edited  by  L.  C.  Root).     1.50 

Renwick.    Thermostatic  incubator.    Paper  36c.     Clorh 56 

Root,  A.  l".     A.  B.C,  of  Bee  Cnltnre 1.25 

Standard  Excellence  in  Poultry  loo 

Stoddard.     An  E-:,^-Farni.    Revised  and  Enlarged 50 

Wright.     Illustrated  Book  of  Puullry 8.00 

Practical  Poultry-Keeper ..     2.1)0 

Practical  Pigeon  Keeper 1.50 


o 


O.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


Our  Sportsman's  Books 


A.^GLi:\G,    FlSHl.^4^,    ETC. 


BurgeSSy  J.  T.     Practical     Guide    to    Bottom    Fishini:,    Trolling, 
fep;ui)iDi',  Fly,  and  Sua  Fi^hiug.     8vo 

Fish  Hatching  and  Fish  Catching.     By   xtooseveit  and 

Green.     12mo 

Forester,   F.     Fish  and  Fishing.    New  Edition.     8vo. 

Fishing  Willi  Hook  and  Line.     Paper 

FySShe  and   Fysshynge,  from  the  Boke  of  St.  Albans 

Hamilton,   M.   D.     Fly  Fishing,     l^nio 

Harris.     Tue  Sciemific  Ani^kr— Fost'-r 

Henshall,  J.  A.     a  Buok  of  the  Black  Bass.    Svo 

Keene,  J.  H.     Fly-Flshing  aud  Fly-Making.    Ix'mo.   Just  Published.. 

Practical  Fisherman.     12mo 

Kingv  J.  L.    TioiitinL;  on  the  Brule  Elver.     12mo 

Norris,  T.    American  Fish  culture.     l2mo 

American  Anglers  Book.     Svo 

Orvis,  Charles  F.     Fishing  with  the  Fly.    Crown  Svo 

Pennell,   H.  C.    Bottom;  or,  Float  Fishing.    Boards 

Fly-Fishing  and  Worm-Fishing.     Boards 

Trolling  for  Pike,  Salmon,  and  Trout.    Boards 

Prime.    I  go  a  Fishing 


Random  Casts  from  an  Angler's  Note  Book 

Roosevelt,   R.   B.     Game  Fish  of  the  Northern  StJites  and  British 

Provinces.     12mo 

—  Superior  Fishing:  or.  the  Striped  Bass,  Trout, 

Black  Bass,  and  Blue  Fish  of  the  Northern 
States,     12mo ^ 


.50 

1.50 

2.50 

.25 

1.00 

1.75 

1.50 

3.00 

1.50 

4.00 

1.50 

1.75 

5.50 

2.50 

.50 

.50 

.50 

2.50 

.50 

2.00 


2.00 


10  O.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL  CATALOGUE. 

Roosevelt  &  Green.     Fisli  Hatcliin;?  and  Fisli  Catching 1.50 

Slack,  J.  H.    Practical  Trout  Cultnre.     12iuo 1.00 

Scott,  C.  C.    Fishing  in  American  Watirs.    8vo  2.50 

Walton  &  Cotton,    complete  Angler.    8vo 5.00 

"  "  Bohn 2.00 

Cliandos 1.50 

12mo 80 


BOATi:^0,  CAI\OEi:\«  !§AIL.I3iO,  ETC. 

Canoeing  in  Kanuckia.    i-mo 75 

Fellows,  H.  P.    B<)atin- Tri|)s  on  New  England  Rivers.    12mo 1.25 

Frazar,  D.    Praciical  Boat  Sailing.    ]6mo 1.00 

Henshall,  J.  A.    Camping  and  Cruisin„- in  Florida.    12mo 1.50 

Kemp,  Dixon.    Manual  of  Yacht  and  Boat  Sailing  (the  Standard 

Auiliority).    Koyal  Svo.    Illustrated 10.00 

Kemp,  Dixon.    Yacht  Designing.    Folio 25.00 

Kunhardt,  D.  T.     Small  Yacl.ts.    4t<.,  14»^  x  IS^^ 7.00 

PresCOtt,  C.   E.     The  Sailing  Boat.     Ibmo..   50 

Steele,  T.  S.    Canoe  and  camera.    12mo 1.50 

Swimming.   Routicdge 20 


FIEEO   SPORTS  A3il>  ^lATfJRAL.  mSTORY. 

American  Bird  Fancier.    Enlarged  edition 50 

Adams,    H.  C.     Favoilie  bong  Birds 1.50 

Archer,  Modern.    Pai)er 15 

Bailey,     Our  Own  Birds 1.50 

Bird-Keeping.     Fully  illustrated 1.50 

Brown.     Tasidcimy  1.00 

Canary   Birds.     New  and  Revised  Edition.     Paper,  50c.    Clolh 75 

Coues.     Key  to Nortli  Amercau  Birds 10.00 

Cocker.     Manual 1.50 

Edwards.    Rabbits    1.25 

Coode  and  Atwater.    Menhaden 2.00 

Holden.     Kouk  or  Buds  25 

Lawn  Tennis  Hand  Book 75 

Packard.     Guide  toSmdy  of  Iiis:;."ls 5.00 

Half  Hour  Insects 2  50 

Common  Insects 1.50 

Practical  Rabbit  Keeper i-so 

Swimming,  Skating  and   Rinking 25 

Van  Doren.     Fishes  or  llie  East  Atlantic.  Ci)ast 1.50 

Warne.     Anj^limr.     Boards .50 

Wilson.     American  Ornithology.     8  vols  18.00 

Wilson  and   Bonaparte.    Aiuericau  Oruilhology.     1  vol 7.00 


O.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE.  11 


Hii.^Tiirc},  siiooTi:\6,  Fi<mii:\o,  etc. 

Adirondacks  Guide.    Wallace 2.00 

Amateur  Trapper.    Boards 75 

Batty^  J.  H.     How  to  Hunt  and  Trap.     12nn, I.5O 

Practical  Tiixidoimy.    12mo j,50 

Barber.     Crack  Shot— tlie  RitlcMnairs  Guide.     l-2mo 1.25 

BogardUS,  Capt.     Field,  Cover,  and  Trap  Shootin;,'.    12mo 2.00 

Bumstead.     On  the  Wing 1.50 

Dead  Shot,    a  Treatise  on  the  Gun 1.25 

Farrow.     How  to  Become  a  Crack  Sliot.     12mio 1.00 

Forester,  F.     Life  and  Writings— D.  W.  Jndd.    2  volumes.    8vo 3.00 

, Field  Sports.     2  volumes.    8vo 4.OO 

Complete  Manual  for  Young  Sportsmen.    8vo 2.00 

American  Game  in  its  Season.    8vo 1.50 

Gildersleeve,   H.  A.    Rifles  and  Markmanship.     12mo 1.50 

Gloan.     The  Breecli-loader 1.25 

Gould,  J.   M.    How  to  Camp  Out.     IGnio 75 

Greener,  W.  W.    Choke  Bore  Guns.    8vo .3.00 

Tlie  Gun  and  its  Development 2..50 

Gun,  Rod,  and  Saddle.     'Ubique' 1.00 

Hal  lock.  Sportsman's  Gazeieer  and  General  Guide— A  Treatise  on  all 
Game  and  Fish  of  North  America.  Instruction  in  Shooting.  Fishinir, 
Taxiilermy.  and  Woodcraft,  with  Directory  of  Principal  Game  Re- 
sorts and  Maps.    New  and  Revised  Edition.    12ino 3.OO 

Henderson,  H.     Practical  Hints  on  Cam{)inL'.     12ino  1.25 

Lewis,  E.  J.    Tlie  American  Sportsman.    8vo 2.50 

Murray.     Adventures  in  the  Wilderness.     12mo        1.25 

Murphy,  J.  M.     American  Game  Bird  Shooting.     12ino 2.00 

NewhOUSe.     Trapper's  Guide.     8vo 1.50 

Pistol,  The— How  to  Use.     12mo .  .50 

Present,  C.  E.     Practical  Hints   on  Rifle  Practice  with  Military 

Armc 50 

Roosevelt,  R.  B.  Florida,  and  the  Game  water  Birds.of  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  and  Lakes  of  the  United  states.     12mo 2.00 

Samuels.    Birds  of  New  England  and  Adjacent  States 4.00 

Shooting  on  the  Wing.    i6mo 75 

Smith,  George  Putnam.     The  Law  of  Field  Sports 1.00 

Stonehenge.    Rural  Sports— The  Standard  Encyclopedia  of  Field 

Sports,    i  morocco.    8vo 5.OO 

Thrasher,   H.    Hunter  and  Trapper.    12mo .7.5 

Wingate,  G.  W.    Manual  for  Rifle  Practice.     16mo 1.50 

Woodcraft.    "  Nessmuck."    12ino 1.00 


12  0.    JUBJ)   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


-:% 


ARCHITECTURE,  ETC. 


Allen,  L.  F      Rural  Architecture 1.50 

American  Cottages s.oo 

Ames.     AlpliabclS 1.50 

AtWOOd.     Countr}' and  Suburban  Houses 150 

Barn  Plans  and   Out-Buildings i  so 

Bell.     Carpentry  Made  Easy 5.00 

Bicknell.     t'^'^ta^e  and  Villa  Architectnro 4  00 

Df  tail  Cottage  and  Constructive;  Architecture 6.00 

Modern  Arciiitectural  Designs  and  Details 10.00 

Public  Buildings      New 2.50 

Strcer.  Store,  and  Bank  Fronts,    Ni-w 2.50 

School-House  and Cnurcli  Arcliiteciuie 2.50 

Stables,  Out-buildings,  Fcnces»<?tc .  2.50 

Brown.     Building,  Table  aiul  Estimate  Book 1.50 

Burn.    Drawing  Books,  Architectural.     Iliiusuated  and  Oruaiueutal. 

3  Vols.    Each 1.00 

Cameron.     Plasterer's  Manual 75 

Camp.     How  Can  I  Learn  Arch itectm-e x 50 

Copley.     Plain  and  Ornamental  Alphabets  ..   3  00 

Cottages.     Hints  on  Economical  Building 1.00 

CummingS.     Architectural  Details 6.00 

Elliott.    Hand  Book  of  Practical  Landscape»Gardeniug 1.50 

Eveleth.     School-House  Architecture 4.00 

Fuller.    Artistic  Homes 3.50 

Cilmore,  Q.  A.    Roadsaud  street  Pavements 2.50 

Gould.     American  Stair-BuildeiVs  Guide 2.50 

Carpenter's  and  Builder's  Assistant 2.50 

Hodgson,    steel  Square  1.00 

Holly.     Art  of  Saw  Filing 75 

Harney.     Barns,  Out-Buildin^s,  and  Fences 4.00 

H  U I  me.     Mathematical  Drawing  Instruments 1.50 


0.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE.  13 


HuSSey.    Home  Building.. 2.50 

National  Cottage  Arcliitectnre 4.00 

Homes  for  Home  Builders.    JustPnblislied,  Fnlly illustrated.  1.50 

Interiors  and  Interior  Details T.so 

La  key.    Village  and  Country  Houses 5.00 

Modern  House  Painting 5.oo 

Monckton.    National  Carpenter  and  Joiner  5.00 

National  Stair-Bnilder 5.00 

Painter,  Gilder,  and  Varnisher's  Companion i  so 

Palliser.    American  Cottage  Homes 3.00 

'     ModelHomes 1.00 

Useful  Details 2.00 

Plummer.    Carpenters' and  Builders' Guide , 75 

Powell.     Foundations aud  Fouiuiatiou  Walls 2.00 

Reed.    Cottage  Houses 1.25 

House  Plans  for  Everybody. l.HO 

Dwellings 3.00 

Riddel! .     Carpenter  and  Joiner  Modernized 7.50 

New  Elements  of  Hand  Railing 7.00 

Lessons  on  Hand  Itai  ling  for  Learners.... 5.00 

Rural  Church  Architecture 400 

Scott.    Beautiful  Homes 2.50 

Tuthlll.     Practical  Lessons  in  Architectiual  Drawing 2.50 

WeideniTiann.     Beajitilying  Country  Homes.    A  superb  quarto  Vol.  10.00 

Woodward.     Cottages  and  Farm  Houses 100 

Count  ry  Homes 1-00 

National  Architect.    Volumes  1  and  2.    Each 15.00 

Suburban  aud  Country  Houses  1.00 


14  O.    JUDD    CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGULlo 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Collection  of  Ornaments 2.00 

Common  Sea  Weeds  so 

Common  Shells  of  the  Seashore 50 

Corson,   Miss  Juliet.     Cooldiii,^  School  Text  Book 1.25 

Twenty-five  Cent  Dinners'.  Nevv  Edition.  .25 

De  Voe.    Market  Assistant 2.50 

Dussauce.    On  the  Manufacture  of  "Vinegar — 5.00 

Eassie.    Wood  and  its  Uses 1..50 

Eggleston.    ^oxy i.so 

Circuit  Rider 1.50 

School  Boy 1.00 

Queer  Stories... 1.00 

End  of  the  World       1.50 

Mystery  of  Metiopolisville 1.50 

Hoosier  Schoolmaster 1.25 

Elliott,  Mrs.    Housewife.    New  and  Revised  Edition •. 1.25 

Ewing.     Hand  Book  of  Airricultiire 25 

Ferns  and  Ferneries.    P:»p^i 25 

Fisher.     Grain  Tables 40 

Fowler.    Twenty  Years  of  inside  Life  in  Wall  street 1.50 

Gardner.    (V^niage  Painters' Manual 1.00 

How  to  Paint 100 

Hazard.     Butter  Makinir 25 

Household  Conveniences i-''0 

How  to  Detect  the  Adulterations  of  Food.    Pap^i"  25 

How  to  Make  Candy so 

Leary.     R'-ady  Reckoner 25 

Myers.     n;iv.nia  Ciirars... 25 

Our  Farmers*  Account  Book ^-^ 

Parloa,  Miss.    Cook  Book i.so 

Ropp.     Commercial  Calculator 50 

Scrib ner.    Lumber  and  Log  Book 85 


0.    JUDD   CO.'S  ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE.  15 

Ware.    The  Sugar  Beet 4.OO 

Weston y  J.    Flesh  Water  Aquarium.    Paper 25 

Weir,  Harrison.    Every  Day  in  the  Country 75 

WIngate,  Cen.  G.  W.     Tlnough  the  Yellowstone  Park 1.50 

Williams.    Ladies' Fancy  Work 1.50 

Evening  Amusements I.5O 

Beautiful  Homes 150 

Ladies'  Needle  Work 1.00 

Artistic  Embroidery 1.00 

Willard.    Practical  Butter  Book 1.00 

Practical  Dairy  Husbandry  3.OO 

Warne'S  Useful  Books.    Boards.    Wltli  practical  illustrations  : 

The  Orchard  and  Fruit  Garden.     By  Elizabeth  Watts 50 

Vegetables  and  How  to  Grow  Them.      By  Elizabeth  Watts 50 

Cattle  and  their  Varieties.... .50 

The  Dog  and  its  Varieties '. 50 

Flowers  and  Flower  Garden.      By  Elizabeth  Watts .50 

Hardy  Plants  for  Little  Front  Gardens 50 

Poultry— An  Original  and  Practical  Gnide  to  tlieir  Management. . .      .50 

Tiie  Modern  Fencer.    By  Capt.  T.  Griffith 50 

The  Modern  Gymnast.    By  Charles  Spencer 50 

Cattle  and  their  Varieties  and  Manigement 75 

The  Horse  and  its  Varieties  and  Management ' 75 

Sheep  and  its  Varieties  and  Management 75 


.C^- 


16  0.    JUDD   CO.'S   ALPHABETICAL   CATALOGUE. 


Our  Very  Latest  Publications. 

Through  the  Yellowstone  Park  on  Horseback.' By 

Gen.  G.  \V.  Wingate 1.50 

Fly-Fishing  and  Fly-Making.   ByKEENE i.50 

How  to   Handle  and  Educate  Vicious  Horses.   By 

O.  R.  Gleason 1.00 

The  Law  Of  Field  Sports.    By  Geo.  P.  Smith 1.00 

Bridle  Bits.    A  Treatise  on  Piactica]  Ilorsemaiisliip.    By  Col.  J.  C. 

Batteusbt = 1.00 

The  Percheron  Horse  in  America  and  France  •     •    loo 

Profits  in   Poultry.     Uselul  ami  Oinainental  Breeds 1.00 

Cape  Cod  Cranberries.    By  James  Webb.    Paper 50 

How  to  Plant.    By  M.  W.  Johnson .- 50 

The  American  Merino  for  Wool   and   Mutton.   By 

Stephen  Powers 1.75 


New  and  Revised  Editions. 

HallOCk.     Sportsman's  Gazetteer 3.00 

Stewart.    Irrij,'ation  for  tlie  Farm.  Garden  and  Orcliard 1.50 

Farm  Implements  and  Machinery.   ByTHOMAs i.50 

Es^Fs^rfY\,    By  Stoddard.     Clotli 50 

Play  and  Profit  in  My  Garden iso 

Silos  and   Ensilage so 


Send  Postal  for  Complete  Catalogue  of  onr  Publications  regarding 
Horses  and  Horsemanship,  Hunting,  Fishing,  and  all  other  Ont-Door 
Sports  and  Pastimes. 

0.   JUDD   CO.  DAVID  W.  JUDD,  Pres't. 

751  BROAD^VAY    NEW  YORK. 


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